Trust
by Sierra Swan
Summary: Bella and Edward have always been best friends, when Bella is raped she has panic attacks whenever any guy tries to touch her. Edward has to work to regain her trust and in the process they both fall in love. All human!
1. Chapter 1

**EPOV**

"Come on, Bella! School starts in 15 minutes and we live 10 minutes away!" My sister, Alice, screeched up the stairs at my best friend, Bella. Bella pretty much lived here because her mom was traveling with her husband, Phil, and Charlie, being a police chief, was always working. So, she had slept over like she did most nights. My mother, Esme, had a room that was set up for Bella's use but she only kept her clothes and some of her possessions in there. She really stayed in my room, but we never thought twice about it seeing as we'd known each other since we were babies and we'd always been like that, it was natural. We never did anything just slept in the same bed because she often had nightmares and I was the only one who knew and could comfort her.

"Come on, Edward. Now we actually need you to drive fast." Alice said as she slid her arms into her rain coat. I grinned, I loved to drive fast and now we had a deadline, so it was needed.

Bella ran down the stairs and tripped at the bottom slightly, I steadied her and she smiled gratefully. Her smile only grew when I helped her into her jacket and gave her, her backpack. She reached up on her toes and kissed my cheek "Thank you." She said linking her arm with mine as I pulled her to the door where Alice waited impatiently. That was another thing, Bella and I were almost always in physical contact, it just comforted both of us to know the other was there and after years of it, it became habit.

We ran out to the car and I held the back door open for Alice and Bella to get in back before jumping into the driver's seat and jamming the keys into the ignition, my Volvo purred to life and I took off down the driveway. Alice was talking animatedly about some shoe sale to Bella but I could tell she'd tuned her out; she was looking out the window silently watching the trees flash by. "Are you okay?" I asked her. She looked up and nodded, a small smile lightening her features.

"Just thinking." She said and Alice glared at her for ignoring her. "Sorry, Alice, but you know I hate shopping and sales don't interest me as much as you." Alice looked offended and I couldn't help laughing. Only Alice would be offended that someone didn't like shopping. She turned to glare at me but I didn't pay attention as I pulled into my usual parking space and got out to open Bella's door. Bella took the hand I held out to her and I helped her out of the car. She twined her fingers through mine as I locked the car once Alice got out and left to meet Jasper by their first period. Jasper was Alice's boyfriend we'd all known since he moved here with his sister, Rosalie, eight years ago.

"Come on, class is about to start." I said to Bella who agreed and hurried to English with me where we took our seats next to each other at the back. Bella and I were both tied for the top of this class so we never paid attention. We turned away from the teacher and Bella ripped a piece of paper out of her notebook and scribbled something on it before sliding over to me.

_"Please tell me you've already had an idea to keep Alice from dragging me to that sale she was talking about?"_

I chuckled and wrote my response before handing it back to her. She read it and glared at me for telling her that not even her brother, Emmett, could stop Alice from going to a sale and he was four times her size.

After a moment, her brown-eyed gaze turned pleading and her bottom lip jutted out slightly as she gave me the puppy dog face. My Heart melted as she knew it would when she whispered "Please Edward." I glared at her.

"You are the most dangerous creature I have ever met." I muttered and then deliberated before nodding.

She grinned and elbowed me playfully I rolled my eyes and scowled at her jokingly which caused her to scowl back. I chuckled and started shoving my books into my bag as the bell rang. Bella did the same as I pulled on my coat and we walked out into the light drizzle together.

2nd hour was the only hour that I didn't have with Bella but our buildings were next door to each other. I walked with her to class "See you next hour." I said as Bella opened the door to her classroom, she nodded. I didn't really notice her look over my shoulder until her eyes widended slightly. "Wh-" I started to ask before I was interuppted by a loud and naslly voice coming from behind me.

"Eddie! How are you?!" I winced. Greeeat, what a perfect way to start the day.

**Can you guess who it is? I'll update later today or tomorrow!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

"_Eddie! How are you?!" I winced. Greeeat, what a perfect way to start the day._

**EPOV**

I turned around slowly "I'm fine, Lauren. How are you?" I said as politely as I possibly could. I heard Bella stifle a giggle at my obvious distaste as she came to stand next to me.

"I'm doing great, thanks Eddie!" Lauren said batting her eyelashes at me. At least I thought my distaste was obvious.

"Could you please not call me that, Lauren?" I had told her every day since I'd met her not to call me that.

"Sure thing, Edward." She replied and I sighed with relief. "I'll see you later." She batted her eyelashes at me again and I had to try really hard not to start gagging. She walked, swaying her hips in a way I believe she thought was seductive. As soon as she was out of hearing distance Bella started laughing.

"And what is so funny?" I asked her as she gripped my arm for support.

"You should have seen your face when you talked to her!" She gasped out. "You looked like you were going throw up or something." She said once she got a hold of herself.

"What did you expect? She's disgusting in the way she throws herself at ant guy who will look at her. It doesn't help that intelligent conversation is also impossible with her."Bella's giggle was cut off by the warning bell. "I'll see you later." Bella nodded and hurried into her class while I hurried off to mine.

Jasper was in this class with me and when he saw the look on my face from several rows away he chuckled "Jessica?" He mouthed, his shoulders shaking from silent laughter. I shook my head and scowled at him for finding it funny. "Lauren?" He mouthed again and this time I nodded, pretending to laugh and this time a chuckle escaped him. Our business teacher, Mr. Mills, whipped around to glare at the class.

"Mr. Whitlock. Do you have something to share with the class?" Ha asked in a no-nonsense voice.

Jasper shrugged "No." he said like he had no idea what the teacher was talking about. Mr. Mills watched him for a moment before turning to the front of the class again and finished what he was writing. We didn't talk for the rest of the hour and it went by quickly. I packed my bag a few minutes before the end of class and left right after the bell rang, the sooner to get out of my dreaded business class the better.

I met Bella outside her class and she smiled when she saw me waiting for her like I always did. I grinned "How was your business class?" She rolled her eyes as we started walking.

"As boring as ever."She responded rubbing her arms quickly as she shook slightly.

"Are you cold?" I asked her and she nodded quickly.

"I'm freezing." She tried to warm herself through friction again. I chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She burrowed into my side "Oh my gosh, you're warm."She mumbled and I laughed. She looked up at the sky "I think it's going to snow." She said in a disgusted voice, I shook my head sadly.

"How can you live in a place like Forks and not like the snow?" I asked incredulously as I opened the gym door. She shrugged. "See you in a minute."I said before walking in the opposite direction to the guys' locker room and Bella to the girls. I dressed out quickly and went back out into the gym were Coach Riggs Giving a couple people basketballs before walking into his office, letting us do what we whatever. I saw Bella sitting on the bleachers talking to Angela Weber about something; well at least I wouldn't need to catch her all through the hour today.

"Hey Edward, come play ball with us!" Justin, some guy I didn't really know, called to me from across the gym. "We need one more for three on three." He said as I walked closer. He was standing next to Tyler Crowley, Cody Johnson, Zak Carter, and Mike Newton.

"Sure." I finally said "What are the teams?"

"Mike, Tyler, and Cody are one team and you're on mine and Zak's team." Justin answered dribbling a basketball casually. "First to fifteen points wins."I nodded and Justin tossed the ball to Mike. "You guys get it first."

Mike passed the ball in to Tyler who dribbled down the court and shot for a three-pointer. He missed by hit the rim and the ball bounced back, I caught the rebound and dribbled down the court passing Mike and went for a lay-up on the right side. It went in and my team cheered as Mike's team groaned. Cody passed the ball in to Tyler who tried to run passed Justin. Justin blocked him and Tyler passed the ball to Cody, he jogged down the court and Zak took off after him. Cody shot a jump shot and it went in, Mike's team cheered loudly now.

The rest of the game passed in a blur with Justin making a three pointer and ending the game with our team in the lead. Coach Riggs blew a whistle, signaling the last ten minutes of class and everyone went off to the locker rooms. I showered and dressed with a minute to spare, so I left the locker, I didn't need to spend more time than needed in there. Outside the locker room Bella was leaning against the wall looking upset. I was only confused for a second and then I saw what was upsetting her.

Mike. Gosh, when was he going to take the hint! Bella did not like him, any one could see that. I walked up next to Bella and wrapped an arm around her waist "How was gym, Bella?" I asked like I hadn't seen Mike yet. This was a little play we always performed when someone was hitting on the other.

"It was good." She answered as she leaned into my side. Mike gasped quietly and I looked up at him, his mouth was literally hanging open and his eyes were wide.

"Oh, hello Mike. Is there a problem?"I asked and he quickly shook his head.

"Umm… No problem, I'll see you later Bella."He said quickly before rushing past us and out the door. As soon as he was out the door we both burst into laughter and had to lean on each other for support.

"Did you see… the look on his face?" I gasped, trying to catch my breath.

Bella nodded "His mouth was hanging open and everything." She said once she regained control.

"We're going to have to tell the guys about this one."I agreed. "We should go; we have a test in Trig today."

"Ugh, why did you have to remind me?" I didn't answer as I held the door open for her and she walked out into the cold and shivered. I immediately put an arm around her shoulder and she thanked me. We walked to our next class together in silence. Inside the class Bella sat down in her seat on the other side of class from me. Emmett ran into the class right when the bell rang after us.

"I'm not late!"He practically yelled in his booming voice and the teacher glowered at him as he took his seat next to Bella. I saw her raise her eyebrows at him and he just grinned and shrugged, she rolled her eyes and shook her head as she got out her materials. I grinned; I could only guess what Emmett could have been doing to make him late.

"There will be no peeking, cheating, or talking during the test unless you want a zero on it."Ms. Moore said as she passed out the tests. "You have until the end of the hour." With that she went to sit at her desk and turned her attention to her laptop. I wrote my name and started the test, the first few questions were easy but the test got harder further in. I looked up to see most kids biting their pencil or something that showed they were extremely nervous. I finished with a couple minutes to spare and I got up to put my paper on the teacher's desk. Back at my desk I packed my bag and waited for the class to end. There was a loud bang and my head shot up, Emmett was on the ground with his legs tangled up in the seat.

"Ow." He mumbled and the whole class burst into laughter including the teacher. Emmett rubbed his head and glared at Bella who had on an innocent expression. I rolled my eyes at their behavior; they truly were brother and sister. The bell rang and everyone rushed out of the room. I waited for Bella and Emmett, "Did you see what she did?" Emmett asked incredulously as he pointed at Bella.

"What did you do?" I asked her and she just shrugged.

"I just asked for the answer of a question so she pushed me and I fell out of my chair!"He exclaimed.

"I didn't push you that hard! You must just be weaker than we all thought, you giant teddy bear." She punched him lightly on the arm and he chuckled.

"Come here." Emmett wrapped an arm around her and mussed up her hair and tickled her sides.

"Stop it!" She shrieked as she pulled herself out of his grasp to run into the cafeteria a couple yards away. Emmett and I laughed as we followed her inside.

Bella was already sitting at our table talking to Alice with a worried expression. As we got closer I could hear Alice talking excitedly about the sale again "Sorry Alice, Bella has to study for a test we have in English tomorrow." Bella smiled gratefully at me while Alice looked upset.

"I'll go with you Alice. What's on sale?" Rosalie sat down between Emmett, who kissed her on the cheek, and Jasper.

"It's a shoe sale in Port Angeles." Alice was immediately happy again. Jasper and Emmett watched silently as their girlfriends conferred about the pros and cons of certain shoes.

"How do you think you did on the test?" I asked turning to Bella who had been watching the others too.

"Well, you made me study so much I'll never be able to forget any of it, so I hope I did good."She said, biting her lip, thoughtfully.

"I don't know why you always worry, you're a straight A student and you always do good on tests." I said before taking a bite of my sandwich. She just shrugged pushing her own lunch away slightly which Emmett noticed.

"What's up? You okay?"He asked stepping into the role of big brother.

"I'm fine, just not hungry."She pulled the book she was currently reading out of her bag and buried her nose in it, completely forgetting the world around her within the first line of the book. I smiled and watched her for a moment, when I looked back at the others the guys were talking about Halo and Rosalie was watching them while Alice was looking at me. I raised an eyebrow at her and she rolled her eyes before looking away. Wonder what that was about.

The rest of the school day passed quickly and uneventfully. Before I knew it, Bella and I were walking to my Volvo discussing Debussy and other things we had in common. "I'm going to walk home today." Bella said as I went to open the passenger door. I smiled at how she referred to my house as her home too, but it disappeared quickly.

"Why are you going to walk?" I asked and I could hear the concern coloring my voice.

She shrugged, "I just feel like walking. Don't worry, I just haven't been walking lately."

"If you're sure…?"I said slowly and she nodded. "Okay, I'll see you later."

"Okay." She kissed me on the cheek like she always did when we wouldn't see each other for awhile. "See you in around two hours; I'm going to take my time." She walked off and I got in my car and drove home with my mind wondering to unimportant things the whole way.

At home, I dropped my backpack by the front door and went up to my room because I didn't have homework. I turned on some classical music and lay down on my bed, kicking off my shoes. I hadn't slept well last night because Bella had had a terrible nightmare last night and I'd had to stay up to comfort her longer. I fell asleep soon after my head hit the pillow.

It felt like I'd only been sleeping a few minutes when I was woken up by my phone ringing. I snatched it off the bedside table as I sat up. It said Carlisle on the ID, but he should be at work. "Hello?"

"Edward, it's Carlisle and you need to get to the hospital right now!"He said urgently and I jumped up shoving my shoes on my feet.

"What is it? What's going on?" I asked.

"It's Bella," I didn't hear the rest because I had dropped the phone as I ran out of the house.

**I want to thank everyone who put alerts on my story, reviewed, and put me on their favorites list. I am so excited about that. I also want to give a big thanks to school.needs to go who helped me when I ran into some technical difficulties, you're awesome. You should really check out her stories. I'll update within the next two or three days. Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Still don't own anything.**

_It felt like I'd only been sleeping a few minutes when I was woken up by my phone ringing. I snatched it off the bedside table as I sat up. It said Carlisle on the ID, but he should be at work. "Hello?"_

"_Edward, its Carlisle and you need to get to the hospital right now!"He said urgently and I jumped up shoving my shoes on my feet._

"_What is it? What's going on?" I asked._

"_It's Bella," I didn't hear the rest because I had dropped the phone as I ran out of the house._

**EPOV**

I sprinted out to the car and jumped into my Volvo, jamming my keys into the ignition. I drove down the winding driveway faster than I should but this had to be really bad. Carlisle had never been this upset before when calling to tell me Bella was in the hospital, not even when she broke her leg and wrist. I cursed loudly when I realized I'd dropped my phone so now I wouldn't know how to react till I saw what happened. I got to the hospital in seven minutes flat because34 I was going so fast and I immediately jumped out of my car and ran in double doors and to the front desk.

"Anna, where's Carlisle?" I asked the secretary.

"Edward, he's with Bella on the third floor in room 213." So she knew something was wrong too. I hurried to the elevator and pressed the up button. The elevator came quickly and I got on, it was thankfully empty. I pushed the three button and waited impatiently to reach my floor, there was a ding and I was through the doors and down the hall in front of Carlisle within seconds.

"What happened?! What's wrong with Bella?!" I asked, trying to keep myself from completely panicking but it was a little late for that. I tried to push past him before I got my answers and he put his arm in front of me. I glared at him "Let me in." I said in a menacingly quiet voice. Carlisle's eyes widened, I'd never talked to him, to anyone, like that, but he still didn't let me in.

"Edward we need to talk first." He took my shoulders and squeezed them while looking me in the eyes. "Thirty minutes ago Angela Weber brought Bella here, she had passed out on the side of the road and Angela had called her father. Her father came and they brought her here wrapped up in blankets." He took a deep breath, "Edward… Bella had passed at from the trauma of…." He stopped to take another deep breath, "She passed out from the trauma of being raped." He said and I just stared at him uncomprehendingly.

"What?" I asked quietly after just staring at him for a full minute.

"Edward, Bella was raped. We don't know who did it, she won't talk to anyone. The reason you can't go in there is because whenever a male goes in that room she tries to move away from them and if they get close enough she has a panic attack. She starts screaming and then she passes out from the overwhelming memories, I don't know when you'll be able to see her it could be days, weeks, I'm not 

sure." I stared at him blankly. No Bella. I couldn't see Bella for who knew how long, but how could that be. Bella had always been the one constant in my life, the one thing that would always be there. How could this happen? How could someone do something that vile to someone so sweet and gentle? That was when I blacked out.

**A/N Thank you for reading! Please review and I would like you guys to vote in my poll to help me decide who is going to be the person who is tearing down Bella and Edward's friendship. Can I please have ten reviews in exchange for the next chapter? I don't want to be picky but it'd be nice. Remember to vote in my poll!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Twilight.**

_That was when I blacked out._

**EPOV**

I woke up to bright fluorescent lights shining in my eyes and I immediately closed them again. I heard the quiet voices of my parents and I listened to what they were saying. "What happened?" Esme asked.

"I told him what happened to Bella and that he might not see her for a while and he passed out. I almost didn't catch him before he hit the ground."Carlisle answered.

"When do you think he'll wake up?" Esme asked worriedly.

"I'm up, Mom." I said quietly and their heads snapped up to look at me. Esme jumped up and came over to hug me. "I'm okay, Mom. How is Bella?" I asked as I turned to Carlisle.

"Not much better, you've only been out for an hour."Carlisle told me. "Edward, do you know what caused you to pass out?"

"When you told me I couldn't see Bella for a while I just passed out, I think the information just overwhelmed me."I said thoughtfully and Carlisle nodded slowly. "Is Bella still having panic attacks?"

"Yes, like I said, you were only out for an hour so nothing has really changed. Charlie tried to talk to her and that was okay, but as soon as he tried to hug her she started screaming and was about to pass out but Charlie left the room before she could." Carlisle said sadly, Bella was like a daughter to him so it must have hurt him to see her like this.

"Wait, what about me? Why don't I try to talk to her! I know her better than anybody else and if anybody has a chance to get her to trust them, it's me!" I said quickly. Carlisle thought about it for a long time.

"Well, if you do see her it will have to be tomorrow because she is exhausted enough as it is." He said slowly and I jumped up out of bed, walking towards the door.

"I can wait." I told him before walking out of the room. "I'll be at home." I called over my shoulder to them.

As I walked out of the hospital I was drenched in rain and I reached back to pull up my hood…. a hood that wasn't there. I swore under my breath and ran out to my car where I ripped the door open and quickly slammed it closed behind me. I started the Volvo and turned the heater up all the way and turned the vents to me as I tried to dry off. I laid my head back against the head rest and closed my eyes, nothing had even really happened to me and I was exhausted. I opened my eyes and looked at the clock on the dashboard. It was already 9 o' clock at night. I put the car in gear and pulled out of my parking space and out of the parking lot. I flipped a switch on the console and Debussy's music filled the car and instantly calmed my nerves. I paid more attention to the road and the music then usual to keep my mind 

off Bella and what she had been through. It didn't work well. Who could do something like that to someone so sweet and gentle, someone who wouldn't hurt another person if her life depended on it? I wouldn't want my worst enemy to have to go through something like this and now Bella was experiencing it and I might not be able to help her with it. I slammed my fist on the steering wheel as I turned into the driveway. Whoever did this to Bella was going to pay for it even if I had to hunt them down myself, I'm sure Emmett and Jasper would agree to come with me and help me bury the body that was sure to be the result of a confrontation. That pervert wasn't going to get away with this, now we just needed to find out who did it.

I slammed my car door behind me and locked it before walking into my house and slamming that door behind me as well. I ran up to my room and closed the door behind me, leaving all the lights off. I found my dresser by feel and put on some plaid pants I owned before taking off my shirt and flopping down onto the bed. I reached over to grab my phone off the bedside table to set the alarm when I realized that it was still on the ground, I got off the bed and felt around on the ground until I found it and picked it up. I sat back down onto the bed and flipped it open, wincing when a picture of a smiling Bella literally lit up the room. I sighed and set the alarm before putting the phone on the table and lying back down.

It took me a while to get to sleep like it always did when Bella wasn't here; I always missed her on nights like this. Tonight was different though, I didn't know that she was safe at her home because she wasn't, she was at the hospital by herself and she _was not_ okay. I did finally get to sleep, though it was a restless and fitful one, I did get to escape my thoughts for a few hours.

I woke the next morning to my cell phone's alarm beeping in my ear and I turned it off before jumping out of bed and dressing. The sun was streaming through the window-wall and I sighed, usually on days like this Bella and I would skip school and go to a meadow we'd found a couple years ago and just lay in the grass in silence, just enjoying being in the others presence.

I walked downstairs after showering and sat down at the table as I watched Esme bustle around the kitchen as she made breakfast. "Good morning." I said quietly as she put a plate with toast and bacon on it in front of me.

She smiled warmly and pulled me into a hug, "How are you holding up?" She sat down across from me with her own breakfast.

"I didn't sleep to well and I'll be leaving to go see Bella right after breakfast." I answered after a minute of quiet eating.

"That's what I thought." Esme smiled at me. "There's a bag of food with two pieces of toast and two pieces of bacon on the counter. I just made them so if you go quickly they'll still be warm when you get there."

"Thanks for breakfast." I stood up and grabbed the bag of food and my coat which I put on as I opened the front door. "I'll be back later." I called to her and closed the door behind me. I jogged down the front 

steps and out to my car. I unlocked it and hopped in, starting the car, I drove down to the main highway, which led to Forks County Hospital. I was practically bouncing in my seat in anticipation of seeing Bella, it hadn't even been twenty-four hours but I missed her.

In the hospital, the nurse at the front desk, Tara, told me that Carlisle was waiting for me outside Bella's room. I thanked her and took the elevator to her floor and walked over to Carlisle. He smiled when he saw the food in my hand, "I'm sure she'll be glad to have edible food to eat for breakfast." He joked and I chuckled.

"Is there anything I should know before I see her?" I asked and Carlisle instantly got serious.

"Yes, there is. First, do not touch her unless she touches you first. Second, do not talk about the incident unless she brings it up first. Third, when you go in the room do not go near her. As soon as you go in walk to the corner of the room that has a chair in it, that is as far as you can be from her and still be in the room. Fourth, there is a nurse, Karen, who's in there with Bella and I need you to listen to everything she says. If she tells you to leave, you leave immediately, you got it?"I nodded and he smiled as he opened the door. "Do not forget a thing I said." I nodded again and silently walked into the room. I immediately retreated to the farthest corner of the room and then turned to look at Bella who was conferring quietly with the nurse.

"Hello, Bella." I said quietly and her head snapped up to look at me.

"Edward?" She asked quietly.

**I am so sorry it's been so long since I updated! I had to go out of state for a wedding and I was grounded from the computer last night. The wedding was totally awesome though, we danced until 1:00 in the morning! Whoohoo!! I'll update again as soon as possible! Oh, and don't forget to vote in my poll it's ****_actually up now_****, I know surprising right?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

_"Hello, Bella." I said quietly and her head snapped up to look at me._

_"Edward?" She asked softly._

**EPOV**

I smiled, "Hey," I held up the food "I thought you might want some food that's actually edible." I grinned crookedly but she just watched me silently. I looked at the nurse "Can you give her the food?" She nodded and stood up. She walked over to me and took the food, which she gave to Bella. Bella took the food and then looked back at me, she studied me for a moment and I said "Esme made it." She nodded and opened the bag and took a piece of toast out, she started nibbling on it as she kept watching me from her bed. When I shifted in the seat she moved a few inches across the bed, away from me. I frowned but didn't say anything, I knew after what happened that this would be difficult and that I'd have to work to gain her trust but I didn't like to see her move away from me.

After she finished a piece of toast and the bacon she put the bag down. "What are you doing here Edward?" She wasn't being rude, she was just curious.

"I missed you." I said and smiled slightly at her "I didn't sleep well last night." I told her. She looked down at her lap as she nodded.

"Neither did I." She said and I felt my smile to grow.

"That's to be expected after all you've been through," The nurse, Karen, spoke up for the first time. Bella and I both looked at her; I'd totally forgotten she was there. We looked back at each other and shared a glance; we both knew that Bella hardly slept unless she was with me because of her nightmares. "you had nightmares during most of the night." Karen continued and I sighed.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there." I apologized to her. Karen looked confused when I said this to Bella but neither of us explained, it only mattered if Bella understood what I meant and I knew she did. She didn't smile like I thought she would, whenever I apologized for not being there she would always smile reassuringly at me and then say that it was alright. She didn't do it this time. "Is there anything you want me to bring tomorrow or do you want me to leave and get you something now?"

"You're coming tomorrow?" She asked and her eyes widened slightly.

"Of course, I'll come as long as I need to for you to trust me. Bella, I'm not letting go of you that easily, we'll get through this no matter how long it takes and no matter how hard it is." Bella had looked down as I spoke and I told her to look at me, when she did I saw that she had tears in her eyes. I started to stand up to go comfort he but I remembered what Carlisle had said so I sat back down slowly. "Bella," I looked straight into her eyes "I promise to help you through this no matter how hard it gets." Tears were now streaming down her face and it took everything in me not to go to her and comfort her like it 

had always been. Karen stood up and wrapped her arms around Bella so Bella's back was to me and the nurse was facing me.

"That was very sweet of you." She said quietly and I smiled weakly as I watched Bella cry from across the room.

After a few minutes, Bella got a hold of herself and let go of the nurse. She lay back on her pillows and turned her gaze on me, I could see the doubt in her brown eyes, she knew I cared for her but she didn't think I could keep my promise. "Bella, I'm not lying, I meant every word I said. Have I ever broken one of my promises?"I smiled at her and she shook her head.

"No, not one." She agreed and I smiled again.

"So is there anything you need or want?"I looked down at my watch. "It's a little after three o' clock so I could go get some late lunch or an early dinner for you?" She thought for a moment before answering me.

"Why don't you go get something for dinner in about an hour and when you go home tonight could you stop by my house and get _Wuthering Heights_ so you can give it to me when you come tomorrow?" I smirked playfully at her.

"I should have known you'd ask for a book. Is that all?" She didn't smile like she usually did when I teased her about her books. "Have you not been smiling lately?" I asked frowning and I felt my eyebrows knit together.

She watched me for a moment before answering "I haven't smiled since…. It happened." She seemed to struggle to figure out what to call the incident and then I realized that I too had come up with a different name for it, 'the incident'. I nodded thoughtfully and she cocked her head to the side and let her expression ask the question.

"Well, I was thinking that that would have to change." I answered her unspoken question. "I'll figure out some way to make you smile even if it means bringing that bear of a brother of yours, Emmett, here."She looked like she was really close to smiling when I said that. "What, do we need to talk about Emmett to get a smile out of you?" I grinned crookedly and she just shrugged. I thought for a moment trying to come up with a funny story about Emmett which, of course, didn't take long. "Remember that one time when we played Truth or Dare with the whole gang and Jasper dared Emmett to get an Alice makeover. And when it was over he had pink nails and lipstick, a blonde wig, and a dress on." I raised an eyebrow at her and she nodded, I could tell she was close to smiling so I told another funny memory. "Remember when Esme wanted to take a picture of us guys because Alice had dressed us all in leather jackets and pants. How Jasper and I leaned against the wall on either side of the doorway out of the kitchen to look cool and when Emmett had tried to duplicate us when he was standing in front of the doorway. Remember the look on his face when instead of his back hitting the wall he fell through the open space and on his butt." She was so close I could almost see it. I grinned crookedly at her again, except showing her my teeth and dimple this time, she loved it when I smiled at her like that.

She watched me for a few seconds before finally cracking a small smile, I smiled so big it was hurting my cheeks. "Thank you, Edward." She said softly her small smile still lighting her features.

"It was my pleasure." I responded "So, how about that dinner?"

**Wow I am so proud of myself. Two chapters in one day, I'm feeling quite productive. I know neither of them are very long but I still think I did a pretty good job. Now, review and vote in my poll!!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I own zilch. **

"_Thank you, Edward." She said softly her small smile still lighting her features._

"_It was my pleasure." I responded "So, how about that dinner?"_

**EPOV**

I flipped on the radio on the way back to the hospital and the music filled the car. I didn't really pay attention to the lyrics as my mind wondered to strategies on how to hunt down that scum that called himself a man.

By the time I was back with Bella's dinner, I had come up with several ways to deal with that pervert if I ever saw him. I needed to find out who did this so at the least they'd get thrown into jail for the rest of their miserable life. I walked to the elevator and waited patiently to arrive on Bella's floor. The elevator doors opened and I started walking down the hall when I thought I heard a muffled scream.

Bella.

I sprinted the rest of the way down the hall to her room and burst in. There, Mike and Tyler were both standing by Bella's bed trying to calm her and Karen was nowhere to be seen. Bella was curled up in a ball on the bed, her head in her hands and her eyes squeezed shut.

I ran forward and pushed both of those idiots back to get to Bella, forget Carlisle's rules. "We don't know what-" Tyler started to explain but was cut off by Bella screaming again, telling them to leave and stop touching her.

"Get out." I growled at them and they nodded vigorously before running out of the room. I went over to Bella and pulled her into my arms and rocked her gently as I sat down on the bed. For a few seconds she tried to push away screaming a little louder, but only for a few seconds then she completely stopped screaming and clutched herself closer to me. Just because she stopped screaming didn't mean she stopped crying though so I just kept rocking her as she ruined my shirt. She fell asleep within two or three minutes and then Carlisle and Karen both barged on to the room, their eyes widening in shock as they took in me sitting on the bed and Bella asleep in my arms as I quietly hummed a tune that I had always sung to her at night when she was upset.

Carlisle regained his composure quickly "What happened? I was talking to Karen about Bella and all of the sudden Mike Newton and Tyler Crowley are telling me something is wrong with Bella and you're here with her." Carlisle didn't raise his voice above a whisper so Bella didn't wake.

"I don't know what happened. I was bringing her her dinner when I heard a scream from down the hall. I ran down here and Mike and Tyler were both _touching _her as they tried to get her to stop screaming. I pushed them away and told them to leave; I assumed that's when they went to talk with you. I comforted her and she fell asleep, just like she always does."I concluded the story quietly and looked 

down at Bella's sleeping form; I kissed her forehead gently and looked back up at them. They both watched me silently for a moment before Karen spoke up.

"You really care about her, don't you?" She asked kindly.

"Yeah, I do. More than I think I should."I mumbled the last part under my breath and it was true. I cared a lot about her but it had seemed like a different kind of caring than it had been a few months ago.

"Edward?" Bella mumbled and her eyes fluttered open. She stared at me for a few seconds and seemed to recollect what had happened the past half hour or so and started to silently cry. She buried her face in my chest and I began rocking again, Karen took a few steps closer to us.

She reached for Bella as she spoke "Maybe I should take her." She took another step forward so she was right next to us, Bella recoiled into my chest and screamed.

"No, don't touch me!"She yelled in a panicked voice as she clutched my shirt and pulled herself closer to me. I automatically wrapped my arms around her protectively and shushed her softly. Karen took a few steps back like she'd been shocked and Carlisle took a step forward so he was next to her. He whispered something in her ear and they both left the room, leaving me alone with Bella again.

I shifted my position and lay back on the pillows, still cradling Bella in my arms. She stopped crying soon after the door closed and we sat in silence for awhile. "Thank you."Bella murmured after a few minutes and I smiled.

"My pleasure." I whispered in her ear and that same small smile lit her features, I smiled in response. "You know even though it was just over a day I still missed being able to be with you like this. Not being able to comfort you earlier nearly killed me, I envied Karen a great deal then… Well, until a minute ago, that is." I grinned at Bella and her smile grew, but then I turned serious and my smile faded. "Bella, what happened?" It seemed everyone was asking that same question lately. "What did they do to you?"

Bella's face turned somber "Karen went to talk to Carlisle and _they_ came in soon after. They walked right up to me even though I told them to go away, they said something but I was too scared to listen and then they were hugging me and…. I just freaked out, all the memories came flooding back and they tried to calm me by touching me _more_. And then you came." She smiled up at me. "Just hearing your voice made the flow of memories slow, but when you picked me up they got even worse than before for a few seconds and then they stopped completely. I don't know why it happened but I'm glad it did. Then, when Karen tried to take me, just the thought of leaving you terrified me. I don't want you to leave." Tears welled in her eyes at her admission and she hugged her herself close to me. I looked at my watch and it was already ten o' clock. It was a Friday so it couldn't hurt if I stayed.

Bella looked up at me with hopeful eyes.

**BPOV**

Edward looked down at me as he deliberated and I could feel the hope in my eyes. He smiled tenderly "Of course, I'll stay." He whispered and I smiled at him as I laid my head on his chest so I could still see his face. Edward pressed a button to turn off the lights in the ceiling but turned on the lamp so the room was still dimly lit. "Good night, Bella." He murmured before humming the lullaby he always sang to me at night. It wasn't long before sleep overtook me.

**A/N: Sorry, that took so long and that it's short, guys. I got an idea for another fanfic and I've been writing in that. Tell me in a review if you guys want the summary to that or for me to post the first chapter of it or if you don't want anything to do with it. Now, I want twelve reviews and ten votes in my poll for the next chapter! And it wouldn't hurt to give me some ideas about what you want to happen. Oh, and sorry this chapter wasn't that great, I couldn't seem to think very well when I was writing so please forgive me!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I thought I would remind you guys that your votes in my poll are just suggestions but I still want some votes.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight's plot but I am a proud owner of a copy of the book! :D**

_Edward looked down at me as he deliberated and I could feel the hope in my eyes. He smiled tenderly "Of course, I'll stay." He whispered and I smiled at him as I laid my head on his chest so I could still see his face. Edward pressed a button to turn off the lights in the ceiling but turned on the lamp so the room was still dimly lit. "Good night, Bella." He murmured before humming the lullaby he always sang to me at night. It wasn't long before sleep overtook me. _

**BPOV**

The next morning I woke up to bright green eyes watching me. Edward. "Good morning" He whispered in a voice that made it seem like he was trying to make himself seem less scary. I felt my eyebrows pull together but everything came flooding back when I looked around the room and realized we weren't in his room but in the hospital. I buried my face in Edward's chest and breathed in his scent to scare away all the bad memories like I always did, but when I changed my position the pain between my legs made me cry out softly and Edward panicked. "What's wrong, Bella?" He carefully moved me so I was looking at him. His eyes showed nothing but concern for me and I was touched by how much he cared, even after he knew what had happened. I remembered that right before I had passed out after being attacked I had worried that Edward, my best friend since we were toddlers, would still care for me like before _it_ had happened. I had completely underestimated him; I had worried that Edward, always sweet and loyal and loving, would believe that after something like this I wouldn't be worth his time. The thought made tears well up in my eyes and Edward watched me with confused and still panicked eyes. I hugged him tightly ignoring the pain it caused and he hugged me back.

"I'm sorry and I'm fine, just sore." I winced and Edward pulled back to lie on the pillows like last night and I put my head on his shoulder. He looked at me curiously but he didn't need to say anything; I knew what he wanted to know. "For still caring about me even after …." I took a deep breath and continued "some people would have left if something like this happened but you didn't, you still care about me and I don't know what I did to deserve someone like you. I actually worried that you would leave and not want to be even near me anymore."

**EPOV**

I watched as tears formed in Bella's eyes as she explained her apology. She was so selfless. She was saying sorry when I should be the one apologizing for not being there to protect her from that (insert swear word of your choice here) who attacked her. It pained me to see her like this and I put my finger on her soft lips to stop her apologizing and kissed her forehead gently. "No apology needed." I murmured "But I still feel …. there's not even a word for how bad and guilty I feel for not being able to stop this from happening but my promise to help you through this is still valid and I'm _going_ to help you no matter what it takes. You know how stubborn I am and how when I put my mind to things, whatever 

it is, it's going to happen if I have anything to do with it and I have a lot to do with this."She smiled and thanked me again. I nodded and stood up to lay her on the bed.

"Where are you going?"She asked with worried expression.

"To get breakfast and to get you books and guitar; I miss you singing and playing."I grinned crookedly and her eyes brightened at the idea of playing music. "I'll be back in about thirty-forty minutes. If you need anything just press the call button and a nurse will come." She nodded and I walked towards the door.

"See you later." She said as I closed the door behind me.

**BPOV  
**I sighed after the door closed. Now I had to find a way to entertain myself so my mind wouldn't wander too much. After a couple minutes I picked up the remote that was sitting on the side table and hit the power button. All of the sudden, very loud voices filled the room and my head snapped up to look at the source of the noise in the corner of the room. It was the TV and I quickly turned it down and started to surf the channels.

After a while I decided on a movie and I watched as Tyler and Nora danced together and began to trust each other and then lose it just to work for it again in _Step up _**(I love that movie!)**Half an hour later at about ten o' clock (in the morning) Edward came back carrying my guitar, a couple books, and a bag with some eggo waffles in it. "Hey." I smiled at him and he smiled back, crookedly which made me suck in a breath like it always did.

"Hey." He put the bag on my lap and set the guitar on the ground so it leaned up against the side table and the books were laid down on the top of the table. "What are you watching?" He said looking at the TV.

"_Step Up_." I answered as Edward sat down in the chair next to the bed. We both snacked on the waffles as we watched the last forty or so minutes of the movie together, I must admit, I was impressed with the final showcase, it was a really good movie. Edward tossed the now empty waffle bag into the trash and I asked him to hand me my guitar. He took it out of its case and gave it to me along with a pick.

I tuned it for a couple minutes before starting a song I'd written called _The Rain_**(Pretend she wrote it and you can listen to it here/watch?vXtIN9jsdqCM ****its Ana** **Free and I think it's a good song.)**It took less than a minute for me to get completely caught up and I closed my eyes as I let the music flow around me and I went off into my own little world that only musicians had the key to. The song seemed to relate to what had happened pretty well actually. **(To me music is pretty much sacred so do not make fun of how I view it!)**

**EPOV**

I watched as Bella got absorbed in the music. I loved her when she was like this, no one else had ever seen her play music but that was the only time you could see the _true_ Bella the side of her that no one 

knew but me. I'd only heard this song a couple times but it was one of my favorites, she didn't have very many songs but they were all amazing and I loved her singing as much as she loved _to_ sing. I'd tried to get her to sing to other people but she never wanted to, she said it was our thing because I played piano for no one but her and my family too. That answer had two effects on me, one: I was sad that she didn't think she was good enough to have other people hear her and two: I felt important, because I was that special and important to her that she would share her singing with me of all people. I listened to her _play the last minute or so of the song and she opened her eyes to watch me as she sang:_

"_I hope your momma never sees you, cryin' like that in your bedroom._

_And I hope your daddy never finds out, cause then you really gotta speak out._

_And I hope you have friends to help you and they know what your goin' through,_

_And I hope you find a way out, baby the rain is comin' down, _

_Baby the rain, baby the rain, baby the rain,_

_Baby the rain is comin' down, baby the rain is comin' down, baby the rain is comin' down."_Bella finished the song and smiled at me, I grinned back at her.

"Remember when you wrote that song?"I asked and she nodded. We'd been in my room sitting on the couch as we looked out of my window wall. We hadn't said anything for over an hour and a half, the only sounds in the room were Bella strumming on her guitar and the rain pattering on the window when Bella had started playing with more of a purpose than before and she started singing. She had written the whole thing in her mind as we sat there; it was the first song she'd ever written and the first time I'd ever heard her sing.

**A/N: I am so, **_**SO**_**sorry I haven't updated!! I've been on vacation pretty much nonstop for two weeks and haven't had the chance to write anything! I'll try and update sooner this time. I want to thank you guys so much! I have gotten so many reviews, favs, alerts and it has totally shocked me, I checked my hits for the first time and the number is **_**insanely**_** high! Now go ahead and press that little purple "Go" button and drop a review, it won't bite if you distract it with a cookie :)**** Anonymous reviews are appreciated too!!**


	8. AN

Sorry guys this is just an A/N. I know, I know I hate it when authors do this too but this is important. Apparently, there has been some confusion amongst my reviewers so here are three things that are important and need to be known:

1. ALL ARE HUMAN!!

2. The votes are just _suggestions_!

3. And Bella is a musician; she plays guitar and sings (but only for Edward)

That is all I just wanted to clear up that confusion!! Now, continue on your merry way and I'll update soon!


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

"_Remember when you wrote that song?"I asked and she nodded. We'd been in my room sitting on the couch as we looked out of my window wall. We hadn't said anything for over an hour and a half, the only sounds in the room were Bella strumming on her guitar and the rain pattering on the window when Bella had started playing with more of a purpose than before and she started singing. She had written the whole thing in her mind as we sat there; it was the first song she'd ever written and the first time I'd ever heard her sing._

**BPOV**

I smiled as Edward recounted the time I wrote The Rain and now that I thought about it, the chorus of the song could kind of relate to what was happening to me now, if I had kept my rape a secret and if I hadn't gone to the hospital. Edward would have found out that something was wrong and gotten the answer out of me pretty fast. The door opening got both of our attention and we looked up to see Carlisle walk into the room. "How are you Bella?" he asked.

"I'm fine." I answered as I moved across the bed to get a little further away from him. I could see the pain in his eyes but I didn't want to risk having the memories come back. Even though he was like a father to me he had set it off once when I first came here and I wasn't willing to relive my experience again.

"That's good." He answered like he hadn't noticed my moving but he knew that I was always good at reading people's emotions **(not like Jasper, she can just read people pretty easily especially if she knows** **them well.)** and knew that he wasn't happy that I was still afraid of him. "I have good news." Edward and I both perked up slightly and he continued "We've run some tests and you are _not _pregnant." My eyes widened, I'd been worrying about that and apparently so had Edward because he seemed just as relieved at the news as I was. I fell back onto the pillows because I had been sitting up and breathed a huge sigh of relief that I didn't know I had been holding in.

"Do you know who did it?" Edward asked as he sat up straighter.

Carlisle's shoulders slumped a little bit and he sighed "That's the bad news; we don't know who did it. We can't find him in the database. Only you can tell us who did it, Bella."He said as he turned away from Edward to me. He must have seen the panic in my eyes and he quickly continued "You don't have to tell us now; you can wait until you're ready." I sighed and nodded. He smiled kindly at me before looking back at his son "Edward, may I speak to you for a moment?" Edward nodded and stood up.

"I'll be back in a minute."He said as he closed the door behind him.

**EPOV **

"Yeah, Dad?" Carlisle turned to look at me as we stood outside Bella's room.

"I need you to talk to Bella, not today but sometime soon. She trusts you more than anybody but I don't want you to try to force it out of her, especially this soon. I also need you to be on guard, sometimes the rapist comes back and kills or hurts their victim so they can't be caught, we'll have a guard up here in ten minutes and he'll be posted here until tonight when Charlie will have three of his officers take shifts protecting her, but I still want you to be careful."I nodded; we both knew I wouldn't let anything happen to Bella. Carlisle's pager went off, "I'll be back to check on her in a couple hours." And with that he was off to take care of his other patients.

The rest of the day passed by pretty uneventfully, I only left to get meals and Carlisle came to check up on Bella around four. When Bella got tired that night we both laid on the bed like the night before and after talking about nothing really important for a while we both fell asleep. I woke up in the middle of the night to Bella yelling in her sleep; telling an invisible person to get off of her and to leave her alone. I pulled her into my arms and at first she fought harder before completely relaxing. "Shhh, Bella, it's going to be alright, I'm right here. Your safe, shhh." I soothed her gently and she curled up against my chest.

"Edward…" She whispered and I froze. She'd never said my name before.

"Yes?" Maybe she was awake. She didn't say anything for over five minutes and then she murmured my name again. Okay, maybe she _was_ asleep and maybe she _was_ dreaming about me; she always said what she was dreaming about. When she didn't say anything for a while after that I let myself drift back into unconsciousness.

Bella was still asleep when I woke up a little after nine in the morning so I got up and went into the bathroom that was attached to Bella's room. I got ready quickly, brushing my teeth and hair (as best I could) and changing into the clothes Esme had dropped off earlier. When I went back into the room Bella was awake and reading one of her books. "_Pride and Prejudice_."She said before I could even ask, making me chuckle. She smiled without looking up and I sat down on the end of the bed and just watched her for a couple minutes. She finally asked "What are you looking at, Edward?" Still not looking up from her book as she turned the page.

"You." I answered simply and she smiled again.

"And what exactly is so interesting about me that is making you stare?" She finally looked at me still smiling. I was going to tell her how the single beam of light that was escaping between the clouds and hitting her just right; causing a halo of light around her head made her look like an angel but I didn't get further than opening my mouth when the door banged open. Without looking I moved so Bella was blocked from view and turned to see that it was just Jasper, Alice, Emmett, and Rosalie standing in the door way. I moved back into my former position so they could see each other and they entered, Emmett and Jasper retreated to the corner and the girls got a little closer but not too close. Bella smiled at them "Hey guys!" They seemed a little surprised by her smile and fairly enthusiastic greeting but they recovered and returned her greeting just as enthusiastically.

"Your hair looks like a haystack!" Emmett practically yelled at her and everyone laughed.

"Don't worry, we've got ya covered."Alice said as she pointed between herself and Rosalie. She pulled Bella's bag of toiletries out of a small black bag she had with her and Bella sighed in relief.

"Thank you so much." I took the bag from Alice and handed it to Bella, "Do you guys mind if I take a shower?" Everyone said it was fine and she went into the bathroom.

"How is she doing?"Alice asked as soon as the shower turned on.

"Better, I'm surprised she didn't try to move away from you guys when you came in."I answered and Alice nodded seriously.

"When do you think she'll be able to tolerate us being closer to her?" Rosalie asked and I thought about it for a moment.

"Maybe a week or two because she knows you guys so well. Does Renee know about this?" I asked.

"Charlie hasn't been able to get a hold of her. She went on a cruise with Phil three days before it happened and it's supposed to be a two month long cruise." Jasper replied and I nodded thoughtfully.

"I miss Bella's clumsiness." Emmett pouted as he sat down in a chair, making us chuckle. His head snapped up "I'm not kidding!"He whined and we laughed harder "I need some of her cooking, too. Charlie's sucks." He made a face and I laughed again. He pouted once more, which just made him look like a mad five year old. The shower stopped and we all froze for a few seconds before Jasper turned to Emmett.

"That wrestling match last night was awesome, huh?"Bella walked in to the room as Emmett responded.

"Yeah, awesome for _you_. But that's just because you won. You know what? I challenge you to a rematch!"He said loud enough for the whole floor to hear him probably.

"Deal."Jasper said. Everyone said their goodbyes and quickly left so the guys didn't hurt somebody by breaking into a wrestling match on the hospital floor.

"So… What did you guys say about me?"

**A/N: There you go, another chapter! I told you I'd update soon!! So drop a review and I'll update again in a few days. Oh, and I'd like to thank you guys for last chapter's reviews, I actually had pleasant conversations with a couple of you (Hi Jane Austen Fan!! XD) Thanks for reading you guys!**


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: All is Stephenie Meyer's.**

"_Deal."Jasper said. Everyone said their goodbyes and quickly left so the guys didn't hurt somebody by breaking into a wrestling match on the hospital floor._

"_So… What did you guys say about me?"_

**EPOV**

I stared at Bella in shock. I knew she was insightful but sometimes she was too perceptive for her own good! I quickly composed my features and after a moment of deliberation decided telling the truth would be best, she knew me too well for lying. "They wanted to know when they will be able to be near you again and we talked a little about Renee and how Charlie hasn't been able to contact her yet. Emmett misses you." I couldn't keep the smile off my face when I thought off how Emmett had pouted like a child a while ago. Bella smiled too and sat down on the bed.

"That's all?" She asked curiously and I nodded. "Well, I guess it could have been worse." She thought for a moment "Do you mind if I read for a while? I don't want you to be bored." She said.

I smiled "I won't be bored. You read and I'll listen to music." I pulled my IPod out of my pocket as I spoke and Bella grinned, bigger than she had in days.

"Do you go _anywhere_without your IPod?" She asked and I grinned crookedly at her a smile I only used when I was with her, she loved when I smiled at her like that. Her eyes softened and she sighed gently as she made herself comfortable on the bed, still looking at me. We just stared at each other like that for nearly a minute when we were interrupted by someone clearing their throat. We both looked to the source of the sound and there stood Alice.

"Hey guys!" She said in her high bell-like voice. "Esme wanted me to bring you some lunch so you didn't have to suffer and eat the hospital food." She smiled and handed me a bag with sandwiches in it as she sat down in a chair a couple feet away from the bed. We both watched Bella for a second but she seemed fine so Alice continued "Can I talk to you for a minute Edward?" I nodded and we both left the room.

Alice didn't beat around the bush but got straight to the point "You like Bella, don't you?"I was more than a little shocked at the topic of conversation.

"What are you talking about?"I didn't meet her eyes as she answered.

"You should've seen the way you looked at her when she left to go to the bathroom earlier and the way you 'protected' her when we came before, the way your eyes brightened when she came back into the room. And just a minute ago when you were both looking at each other, you didn't even notice when I came into the room! And I recognize that look… Oh my gosh, I know that look! That's how Jasper looks at me!" Her eyes brightened at her realization and a huge grin spread across her face. All of the sudden she wrapped me in a huge hug that almost knocked me over and cut off my circulation.

"Hug… too… tight, can't… breathe." I gasped out and she released her death grip on me. I took a few deep breathes before asking "What the heck was that for?"

Alice opened her mouth like she was going to tell me but then she slowly closed it again and her eyebrows pulled together. "Maybe I should let you figure it out on your own." She mumbled to herself.

"Tell me! Because I am thoroughly confused, I have no idea what you're talking about!" I exclaimed and she looked at me with pity.

"You really can't see it, can you? I don't think she sees it either…" Alice trailed off in thought.

"See what?! What am I supposed to be seeing?" I asked, outraged and confused.

Alice thought for a long moment before responding "Think about what I already said to you and you should get it at some point. I'm not going to just tell you, this is something you need to figure out by yourself." She went back into Bella's room before I could react. I huffed and followed her.

Bella was laying on the bed holding her book in one hand and a half-eaten sandwich in the other. She looked up when we came in and her eyes brightened when I sat down next to her again. Alice grabbed the other sandwich before I could and started eating it, leaving me with nothing. I scowled at her and she just giggled while Bella's eyes danced with amusement. I rolled my eyes, at least I wasn't very hungry I could have an earlier dinner today and just go without lunch. Alice updated us on what was going on at the house and on Emmett's latest shenanigan's, apparently he'd won the last wrestling match at the price of two of Esme's side tables and the next two weeks of his freedom.

Alice left after a while and Bella and I went with our previous plan. She returned to her reading and I made myself comfortable in a chair as I put my IPod buds in my ears and turned on my music. I thought about what Alice had said earlier as I closed my eyes and listened to Jim Brickman's Lake Erie Rainfall. She had asked if I liked Bella then continued on and talked about the way we looked at each other and how we hadn't even noticed her when she had arrived. Then she said she recognized the way we watched each other, that she had seen Jasper look at her like that, of course she attacked me in a death grip hug after that and said she wouldn't tell me what she meant with all of this. I sunk deeper into the chair and thought about all of this for a long time. For some reason, the part about Jasper seemed important and – Wait… did she mean Bella and I liked each other? No, no that wasn't possible. I loved Bella but, there was no way I was _in_ love with her. Was there? Things had seemed to change between us lately and I knew that I always cared about Bella but _loved_ her? She was what made my day bearable, she made me want to be better and I didn't need to try around her, I could just be me and it was good enough, is that what love is? Missing her when she's not around and feeling her pain as though it were my own and wanting to protect her from whatever was out there in the world, what about that charade **(chapter 2)** we played whenever someone hit on me or her? Oh my gosh… Did I, Edward Cullen, really love my best friend Isabella Swan? **(I almost stopped here)**

I opened my eyes to look at Bella with new eyes. She was slowly falling asleep as she read, her eyelids drooped lower and lower as the book fell flat on her lap and they finally closed. I smiled, she was so 

beautiful and peaceful in sleep, she looked like an angel. I watched her for a few minutes, still contemplating my epiphany. It amazed me that my thoughts were so conflicted and she could still be asleep as a time like this, when I just realized that I loved her. I finally drifted into my own fitful sleep. My last thought was that maybe, just maybe, she could love me back.

**A/N: And there you have it! With a little help from Alice, Edward finally gets it! Please review and I'll try to keep updating like I have been the past couple days! I'd like to give a shout out to all-hail-the-jello, xxBloodxxLustxx, and mudpie94, Hey guys! XD Now, go pries that little purple button that says "Go" remember, if you distract it with a cookie I promise that it won't bite ;) **


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I own zip.**

_I watched her for a few minutes, still contemplating my epiphany. It amazed me that my thoughts were so conflicted and she could still be asleep at a time like this, when I just realized that I loved her. I finally drifted into my own fitful sleep. My last thought was that maybe, just maybe, she could love me back._

**BPOV **

I woke up and it was still light out, well, as light as it can be in Forks. My watch said it was a little after 4 o' clock, so I'd been sleeping for nearly three hours, man it was going to be a difficult to get to sleep later tonight. I looked around and smiled slightly when I saw Edward asleep in the chair, he was starting to fall out of it and his hair was even more messed up than it usually was. I got up and went into the bathroom. I looked into the mirror and sighed sadly, I still didn't look very good. A huge bruise the size and shape of a hand covered most of the left side of my face and there was a shallow cut in my forehead that hopefully wouldn't scar. I didn't even want to think of what my legs looked like; just walking hurt and the shower I'd taken before had burned a lot, but I felt like I'd washed away all the filth. I left the bathroom and winced when I sat on the bed. I was going to read again but I didn't really want to fall back asleep, so I just lay there, thinking.

I wanted to tell someone who did this so _he_ could be thrown in jail but I couldn't even _think _his name, let alone _say _it. He'd caused me so much pain and I didn't want the same fate for someone else because I was too scared of him to even say his name, afraid he'd find me and_ this_ time he wouldn't let me live. There was a groan from a couple feet away and I turned to see Edward stretching. He looked around and his expression lit up with a smile when he saw me "How long were we asleep?" his still looked really groggy and his hair stood up in every direction, making me smile.

"A couple hours, it's almost five."He nodded and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"You want some dinner?" He stood up and stretched again.

"Sure, just get whatever, I'm not a picky eater." I said.

"Okay, I'll be back soon." I nodded and he left to go get dinner.

I sat back and picked my book back up. I was only reading for about ten minutes when the door opened again. This time it was Emmett and Jasper. I was happy to see them but at the same time, I was more wary of Jasper than anyone else. His blond hair and blue eyes reminded me of my attacker more than anyone else's features even though there was a difference. Jasper's eyes were calm and familiar while my attacker's had been hectic and only very faintly familiar and Jasper's blonde hair was neat and clean while _his _had been dirty and mussed up. I shook the thoughts from my head before I started freaking out. "Hey, Bells." Emmett greeted as he and Jasper moved to the farthest corner of the room. Jasper smiled and waved, but didn't say anything, always quiet.

I waved back "Hey."

For once Emmett wasn't in the joking mood, he was completely serious as he spoke. "Bella, as soon as you're ready you need to tell us who did this, okay? I want this scum to be in jail and off the streets… I want my little sister back and I don't want her to be afraid anymore." He looked so sad and tears welled up in my eyes. I wanted to hug him so much and I wanted his comfort, but I was afraid, just like he'd said, of what would happen if I did. Emmett started to get up and walk towards me but Jasper put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back. Emmett glared at him menacingly and practically glared at him, but Jasper didn't back down and shook his head. He said something to quiet for me to hear and Emmett's shoulders slumped as he dropped back into the chair. We all watched each other for a second before Japer spoke.

"You can wait until you're ready, we're not going to push you into it but we all, my family, the Cullens, and Charlie, want you to know that none of us think any less of you and that we all still love you like a sister and the parents still think of you as their daughter."The tears that Emmett had brought to my eyes now spilled over and this time when Emmett tried to come over to me Jasper seemed to have difficulty not going himself and he barely got Emmett to take his seat again.

I wiped the tears off my face "Thank you, for being there."I said to both of them and the sorrow in their eyes was almost too much to handle. They just smiled sadly and then we tried to turn the topic of conversation to a lighter subject and they told me in detail, about the wrestling match that had gotten Emmett grounded. They opened the door to leave and Edward was standing right outside the door.

"Hey."He said slowly as he entered the room with an Arby's bag. "What's going on in here?"

"We just wanted to see Bella." Jasper answered and after the guys all exchanged a few pleasantries, Jasper and Emmett left, with one last farewell.

As soon as Edward closed the door, I let the tears I'd hid for the past half hour loose. Edward rushed over to me and put the food on the table before wrapping his arms around me. He didn't say anything, just held me until I finished crying and then he asked what was wrong.

I told him about Emmett and Jasper's visit and he listened patiently to my story. When I started to tear up again he wiped them away and then handed me the food that was getting pretty cold now. We ate quickly and talked about a bunch of things, all were meaningless but it kept the mood light. After talking late into the night I started to get tired and asked Edward if he was ready to go to bed, he said yes and we both changed before lying down side by side in the bed, well, actually I was halfway on top of him because of the size of the bed.

For once, Edward fell asleep before I did and I just watched him sleep as I began to think again. This time I didn't think of bad things though, but of Edward. I'd caught him watching me a couple times today, but something about his expression made me think it wasn't the same as it used to be. There was something in his eyes that seemed familiar but I couldn't place where I'd seen it…

Maybe it was just me but I didn't think so, I lifted up my hand and played with his hair a little bit. His eyes flickered open just long enough to smile drowsily at me and then he'd fallen back asleep. His 

crooked smile always made my heart speed up and it brightened my world considerably, I couldn't help but give him whatever he wanted when he smiled at me like that. I thought about how easy it was to be around him, even after this and how he soothed all my fears and worries just by being in my presence, making my world seem right with just a glance or a smile. He probably had no idea how he effected me by doing and saying the simplest things.

Before I fell asleep I had one last thought: _I_ did _recognize that look, it was how Rosalie and Emmett looked at each other, the same as Alice and Jasper or Carlisle and Esme. But that could only mean one_ _thing_… and then I was dragged down into a fitful sleep.

**A/N: The Breaking Dawn party is today!! Whoo!! I want to thank you guys for all the hits and reviews and all that jazz! I want to give shout outs to **_**BellaxMariexCullen**_**, **_**KSRF**_** (who didn't have messaging so I settled for this), and again a shout out to **_**all-hail-the-jello**_**, go check out her story because she is an AMAZING writer and I loved her story (you can find her in my fav authors)!! Okay, I think that's about it, so go and review and I'll update in a couple days!**


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

Before I fell asleep I had one last thought: _I_ did _recognize that look, it was how Rosalie and Emmett looked at each other, the same as Alice and Jasper or Carlisle and Esme. But that could only mean one_ _thing_… and then I was dragged down into a fitful sleep.

**EPOV**

Bella was awake before me the next morning. She was sitting up in bed and looking out the window, watching the rain. I sat up next her but she didn't turn towards me, or even look at me. Her eyebrows were furrowed like she was thinking very hard about something**. (she's thinking about Edward, he just** **doesn't know it)**She shivered when the A/C turned on and I wrapped an arm around her and she leaned into my side but still didn't look up at me. "Did you sleep well?" I asked and she nodded absently, I bit my lip to keep from laughing at her frustrated expression. "Is something bothering you?" She looked up, surprised.

"Just thinking." She said before turning back to the window.

"What-" We were interrupted by a loud bang. I immediately pulled Bella off the bed and stood in front of her, it took a second to register that the bang was a gunshot. There was a groan on the other side of the door and the sound of someone getting hit. Bella and I were still facing each other and I watched her eyes widen before she buried her face in my chest and covered her ears, I wrapped my arms around her. I heard footsteps as someone ran away and stood completely still with Bella, both of us shocked into stillness and silence. After a painfully quiet and still moment there was the sound of a flood of personnel lifting someone onto a stretcher.

"I'm going to see what happened, you stay here." I told Bella as I started to pull away.

She glared at me "I'm going to go too; I'll stay behind you if it makes you feel better."

I studied her face as I thought. She had on her stubborn face; she always got what she wanted from me when she looked at me like that. I sighed "Fine." I turned around and we headed to the door but before I opened it I said "Stay behind me." She nodded and I opened the door.

Outside, nurses and doctors were all surrounded around a man on a stretcher and I realized it was Officer Mills, the officer who took morning shifts outside Bella's room. Then I saw Carlisle. He wasn't helping at the moment, but leaning against the wall staring blankly at a small piece of paper in his hands. The nurses took off down the hall with the stretcher and Officer Mills.

**BPOV**

Edward dragged me across the hall towards Carlisle who was staring at a small paper in his hands. "What is it, Carlisle? What happened?" Edward asked quickly. Carlisle didn't say anything but handed Edward the paper, watching him with grave eyes as Edward read the slip. Edward's eyes widened as he read it and he looked up at me with shocked and maybe even scared eyes.

"What is it? Give it to me, Edward." I held out my hand and he reluctantly gave it to me, I looked down at the page.

_Remember your promise, Isabella. If you tell, you WILL regret it..._

"That was pinned to Officer Mills when we found him. I'm sure it's from your attacker." Carlisle said quietly when I looked up at them. I leaned against Edward as I thought about what it had said. My promise, I remembered that. He made me promise not to tell someone or he'd hurt Charlie, I took in a shaky breath as I thought about that. Maybe I shouldn't tell them, I couldn't let Charlie get hurt because of me, I would never be able to forgive myself and I'd always know it was my fault.

I looked up at Carlisle "Please go take care of Officer Mills, please don't let him die." I practically begged. Carlisle nodded and after two other officers came to replace Officer Mills, he left.

Edward gently pulled me back into the room; he sat down on the bed with me in his lap and rubbed soft, soothing circles in my back as I tried to get over the shock of what had just happened. Key word: _tried._ We sat in complete silence for who knew how long, as I concentrated on my breathing to keep my mind off all that had happened to me.

"Are you hungry?" Edward broke the silence.

"I don't want you to leave." I said quickly but my stomach growled as if to contradict my sentence.

"Why don't you come with me? We'll just go to my house and you'll stay in my room with me as Esme cooks something. It'd be nice to be in a real bed wouldn't it? And I want you to be safe." He said and I thought about it. It would be nice to not have body guards all the time and Edward's bed was amazingly comfortable were this hospital bed was hard and completely uncomfortable. If we stayed in his room we wouldn't run into anybody either because he was the only person on the third floor; everyone else was on the second. "You don't have to, I just think it would be a good idea and Carlisle said you could leave the hospital as soon as you wanted to."

"I wouldn't have to be with too many people?" I asked tentatively.

Edward smiled "Of course not, you want to gather your things and we'll go?" He asked. I grabbed all my books and toiletries and things and put them in the bag Alice had brought me. Edward took my bag and led me out of the hospital, always making sure to steer clear of other people for me.

In the car, I laid my head down on the cool glass of the window and closed my eyes as Edward pulled out of the parking lot. He turned on some soft Debussy **(What else?)** and I concentrated more than need be on it so I couldn't think of what had happened with Officer Mills, I shuddered slightly, thinking of all the blood.

_Stop it Bella! The last thing you need is to have a panic attack or get sick in Edward's car!_

I felt the car stop and I opened my eyes to look at the familiar house, correction, the familiar _mansion._ Edward got out of the car and opened my door, he held a hand out to me and I took it. We walked up to the house and Edward held the door open for me. "Esme, Bella and I are going to stay in my room! Please don't come in, you know why!" Edward called to Esme and he led me up stairs. He must have told Esme that I didn't feel comfortable around other people right now.

"Do you guys want some lunch?" She called after us and Edward called back that that would be great. He dropped me and my bag off in his room so he could go get our lunch (it was already just past noon) and to talk to Esme about the new arrangements. I made myself comfortable and put my clothes in the two bottom drawers of Edward's dresser because they were always empty so I could put my things in there. A few minutes later Edward came upstairs carrying a tray with fruit, sandwiches, and drinks "Lunch is served." He grinned at me as he set it down on his desk in the corner of the room. We ate in silence, both of us consumed in our own thoughts. Edward looked like he was trying to solve a puzzle and I was trying to figure out what it might be when he looked up at me.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked and I paused for a second.

"Nothing of consequence." I didn't want him to know I was thinking about him. He glared at me.

"I hate it when you do that." He flopped back down on the bed "Do you always have to edit?"

I smiled a little bit "Yeah, I do." His head rolled to the side as he looked at me and grinned crookedly, my smile grew in response. I got off the bed and walked over to his giant black couch and sat cross-legged on the very end of the couch. I l patted the seat next to me and looked at Edward. He got up and came to lie down on the couch next to me. He laid his head next to my leg and I tried to pull him up, closer to me… it didn't work. He chuckled and moved closer to me himself, laying his head in my lap like we used to do all the time. He chuckled again as I began to absent mindedly play with his hair as I watched the rain patter against his window-wall. After a while, Edward spoke, breaking the silence.

"Will you sing for me?" He whispered and I looked down at him. He was watching me quietly and I sighed.

"What do you want to hear?"

He grinned "Anything." I thought for a long moment before deciding on a song he hadn't heard yet called 2 AM. **(Song is Breathe or 2 AM by Anna Nalick, again pretend Bella wrote it and here's a link: /watch?vx7KYizBh1JQ**** )**

"Can you hand me my guitar?" I pointed at my guitar leaning against the wall next to the couch. He sat up and pulled it out of the case before handing it to me. Edward sat next to me and gave me his full attention as I began.

_2 AM and she calls me 'cause I'm still awake,  
"Can you help me unravel my latest mistake?,  
I don't love him. Winter just wasn't my season"  
Yeah we walk through the doors, so accusing their eyes  
Like they have any right at all to criticize,  
Hypocrites. You're all here for the very same reason_

Edward watched me silently with a gaze so intense it felt like he saw right through me, down to my core. Instead of looking away I kept my eyes on his and my voice grew stronger when he didn't look away from me but seemed all the more entranced.

_'Cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable  
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table  
No one can find the rewind button, girl.  
So cradle your head in your hands  
And breathe... just breathe,  
Oh breathe, just breathe_

_May he turn 21 on the base at Fort Bliss  
"Just a day" he said down to the flask in his fist,  
"Ain't been sober, since maybe October of last year."  
Here in town you can tell he's been down for a while,  
But, my God, it's so beautiful when the boy smiles,  
Wanna hold him. Maybe I'll just sing about it._

Edward smiled and I closed my eyes as I continued.

_Cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable,  
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table.  
No one can find the rewind button, boys,  
So cradle your head in your hands,  
And breathe... just breathe,  
Oh breathe, just breathe_

I sang a little louder at the next part because it was my favorite part of the song.

_There's a light at each end of this tunnel,  
You shout 'cause you're just as far in as you'll ever be out  
And these mistakes you've made, you'll just make them again  
If you only try turning around._

I played my guitar quietly, softly again and my voice got a little quieter as well and I opened my eyes locking them on Edward's again and shivered at the flow of electricity that went through me.

_2 AM and I'm still awake, writing a song  
If I get it all down on paper, it's no longer inside of me,  
Threatening the life it belongs to_

I started playing louder again and my voice rose with it.

_And I feel like I'm naked in front of the crowd  
Cause these words are my diary, screaming out loud  
And I know that you'll use them, however you want to_

_But you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable,  
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table  
No one can find the rewind button now  
Sing it if you understand.  
and breathe, just breathe  
woah breathe, just breathe,  
Oh breathe, just breathe,  
Oh breathe, just breathe._

_La da da da da, La da da da da, La da da da da, La da da da da._

_Hey, yeah, yeah. La da da, La da da da da._

_Hey, yeah, yeah. La da da da da. Hey, yeah, yeah._

I stopped playing and Edward and I just stared at each other for a moment and then Edward looked down for a second. When he looked back up at me conflict raged in his eyes and he slowly leaned forward, He took a deep breath and I just watched, wandering what he was doing.

And then he leaned forward and kissed me.

**A/N: And that's the chapter! Sorry it took so long to update guys, I start school this Monday so life's been a little hectic. Review and I'll update as soon as possible!! And remember to check out all-hail-the-jello's stories! I've read both of them and they're fantastic, you can find her under my favorite authors so go check her out when you're done reviewing!!**


	13. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

_I stopped playing and Edward and I just stared at each other for a moment and then Edward looked down for a second. When he looked back up at me conflict raged in his eyes and he slowly leaned forward, He took a deep breath and I just watched, wandering what he was doing._

_And then he leaned forward and kissed me._

**BPOV**

They weren't coming. The memories, the horrible images, they weren't coming. When his lips first pressed against mine I thought they'd come flooding back but they didn't because his lips against mine didn't trigger anything. His soft and gentle lips didn't make me think of the rough and disgusting kisses my attacker had given me. This was my first kiss, my first _real _kiss. It didn't count when I was raped because it was an attack and I didn't even respond.

It took a few seconds for me to react but then I was kissing him back. Without pulling away, Edward took the guitar from my hands and set it on the ground. As soon as his hands were free he wrapped his arms around my waist and I put mine around his neck, both of us leaning more into the kiss. I tangled my fingers in his soft bronze hair and he ran his hands through my long brown hair before replacing them on my hips. It felt like it had been hours before we broke apart. I was more than surprised. Surprised he had kissed me and surprised that my first kiss was like that. I'd used to think that my first kiss would have just been a peck on the lips but this kiss was, well… longer than that. And instead of it having no feeling or not much, the kiss that I shared with Edward was full of emotion and was slow and gentle. **(A/N: Sorry about the kiss guys; I have no experience :P) **

Edward pressed his forehead to mine and we stared at each other as we controlled our breathing. My mind raced a mile a minute as I tried to come up with something to say but Edward beat me to it "You're amazing, Bella." He murmured and I breathed out in relief. I was trying to figure out how to respond to that and how to react to his expression, the look in his eyes which was so similar to the way Jasper and Emmett looked at Alice and Rosalie. All of the sudden his face got a little panicked "Was that okay? That didn't bother you or bring anything back did it? I mean-" When I finally understood what he meant I cut him off by putting my hand over his mouth.

"I'm fine, that didn't remind me of anything. It wasn't anything like what… he did to me." I almost said his name but I still couldn't quite say it. If only we could do something to keep Charlie safe and I got the courage to tell them. Then all this mess could be cleaned up, my attacker would be thrown in jail and I wouldn't have to worry about him anymore.

Edward noticed my hesitation "Bella, you don't need to tell me now but as soon as you can I need you to tell me who did this. Then we can get rid of this guy so you can be safe and we don't need to constantly worry that he's going to come back. Can you at least give me a hint?" He practically begged. I took a deep breath as I stared into his pleading green eyes, debating whether or not I could tell him.

I settled for something easy. "He has blue eyes and blonde hair." I told him quietly.

Edward sat completely still for less than two seconds and then he was up, practically running towards the door. "I knew it was Mike!" He roared as he opened the door and moved quickly to the stairs. "That little son of a-" Edward said loudly but I cut him off.

"Edward wait!" I ran after him but he didn't falter. He was still yelling about how he was going to kill Mike when we got down the bottom of the last staircase. I was too slow, Edward was almost down the stairs and I was still at the top of them.

All of the sudden, the front door opened and Emmett and Jasper came through. "Emmett stop him!" I yelled down to him. Emmett eyes locked on Edward who was now about to run past them and out the door. Emmett grabbed Edward and held him against the wall.

"Bella, what's going on?" Emmett asked.

Edward struggled roughly against Emmett and Jasper pushed Edward against the wall a little harder.

"It was Mike!" Edward yelled at them and they both grew still. Edward broke away from them and started for the door with Emmett and Jasper now following him.

"Edward stop!" I yelled at him and he whirled around with a furious expression that made me flinch, I'd never seen Edward this mad.

"You have two seconds, Bella." He said as calmly as possible.

"It wasn't Mike." I said quickly.

Everyone froze "What do you mean it wasn't Mike? Why would Edward say it was Mike if you didn't tell him that?" Jasper asked.

"I only said that he had blonde hair and blue eyes."

"Who else with those characteristics would do this to Bella?" Edward answered Jasper with a question.

"If it wasn't Mike, who was it then?" Emmett growled his own question.

I could tell them right now. I opened my mouth to say his name but it wouldn't come out. The guys looked at me expectantly as I struggled to tell them _something_ useful. I opened and closed my mouth a couple times, as I thought of his name the memories came flooding in all at once: his face, his voice, the pain, all the pain. I flinched back from the thoughts and Edward took a step toward me "Bella, are you okay?" He asked gently, all anger forgotten. I needed relief from the pain; I quickly walked over to Edward and wrapped my arms tightly around him. He froze for a quarter of a second before enfolding me in his arms. He pulled me away just enough to kiss my forehead and then lightly kiss my lips, causing my mind to go blank. "Bella…" He murmured "Who did this to you?" His bright green eyes silently pleaded with me.

Suddenly Emmett roared "What the _heck _was _that_?!"

**A/N: I'm so sorry it took so long to update guys! I just finished my first week of school and it wasn't very fun :P So… What do you guys think?! I liked this chapter, but I want to know what you think so review or PM me. If you have any questions you can ask and I'll answer to the best of my ability. It doesn't even need to be a normal question; it can be totally random because I love those questions! ******** I'll update as soon as possible. Oh, and I want to see how many of you know what Emmett's freaking out about so guess that in a review too. I have one last question before I go: Are any guys reading my story? Again, tell me in a PM or a review! Thanks guys and girls!! :D**


	14. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

_He froze for a quarter of a second before enfolding me in his arms. He pulled me away just enough to kiss my forehead and then lightly kiss my lips, causing my mind to go blank. "Bella…" He murmured "Who did this to you?" His bright green eyes silently pleaded with me._

_Suddenly Emmett roared "What the _heck_ was _that_?!"_

**BPOV**

Edward and I whirled around just in time to see Emmett lunge towards us. He grabbed Edward and thrust him against the wall with an audible thud. Edward didn't struggle against Emmett's hold or cower under his murderous glare; he just watched me with a soft expression. "Bella, you have thirty seconds to explain." Emmett growled, his eyes still on Edward.

I rushed over to them and tugged hard on Emmett's arm, fortunately it didn't bother me. "Let go of him." I said slowly and firmly, tugging on his arm again for emphasis.

"Edward, you're like a brother to me, but if someone doesn't explain I'm going to beat the crap out of you for kissing my little sister." He said threateningly and completely ignoring me.

"Emmett, can I _please_ talk to you alone?" I begged him and he finally looked at me.

"Fine." He let go of Edward and followed me out of the room and into the kitchen. "What's going on, Bella? Why did he kiss you? I know you guys are close, but I've _never_ seen you guys kiss like that, it's always been on the cheek before."

"Because I'm hoping he likes me and I recently realized that…" I took a deep breath. "That I love him." That was the first time I'd said it out loud and the truth in my own words almost overwhelmed me, Emmett's expression showed that he'd seen it to.

"You… love him?" He asked quietly.

"Yes." I said without hesitation. Emmett went completely silent for nearly two minutes, he just stared at the ground unseeingly.

"Can I talk to Edward?" He asked suddenly and he looked up at me.

I paused for a few seconds "Will you be nice and _not _tell him what I said? I'll tell him when I'm ready." He nodded and I smiled before leaving to get Edward.

**EPOV**

Bella was smiling when she came out of the kitchen and I breathed out a sigh of relief. "Emmett wants to talk to you." She told me and I frowned.

"Do you know what he wants to tell me?" She just shrugged and sat on the couch.

"So, you and Edward?" Jasper asked Bella with a big grin. I smiled and shook my head as I walked into the kitchen.

Emmett was staring blankly at a wall and didn't even blink when I sat down in front of him. "Emmett?"

He jumped in surprise and looked up at me. We sat in complete silence for a moment and I could hear Jasper and Bella in the other room, they sounded excited about something.

"I only have one question for you." Emmett finally spoke and I nodded for him to continue, "How do you feel about Bella?" He stared straight into my eyes, more serious than I'd ever seen him.

"I love her." There was no hesitation. Over the past couple days it had been impossible to deny that I loved her and then there was the kiss and that was the most amazing thing to ever happen to me.

He nodded slowly, not looking at me again. "You can go back to her and… I'm not mad." We stood up and walked into the family room together.

As soon as we were in the family room Bella was talking. "Guys, guess what I did?" We looked at each other and shrugged after a couple seconds when an idea didn't come to either of us. "I _touched_ Emmett and it didn't bother me!" Emmett and I understood what she meant at the same time and he pulled her into one of his famous bear hugs.

"Put me…down, can't… breathe." She squeaked after hugging him back for a few seconds, Emmett laughed loudly and set her down.

"I'll call Charlie and tell him that you're starting to get better." Emmett pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and left the room.

"And I will call Alice and Rosalie." Jasper also left the room with his cell phone in hand.

Bella sat down on one end of the couch and patted her lap and looked at me with humor in her eyes. I smiled crookedly, like I knew she liked, and lay down next to her. I set my head in her lap so I was looking at her and she started playing with my hair, running her fingers through it slowly. I reached up and rested my hand on her cheek, her eyes immediately closed and she leaned into my hand with a small smile, making me smile again.

We sat like that for a few minutes, until we head the slam of a car door outside and we looked up to see Jasper watching us from the doorway with a big smile on his face. "I'm not usually one to intrude-"

Emmett saved him from having to explain when he came back into the room with an announcement. He paused for a moment and stared at us and I realized how our position must look to him. I started to sit up but he shook his head and said. "Charlie's coming."

Bella bit her lip and her eyebrows pulled together like she was calculating something. "Bella?" I whispered and she looked down at me. "You'll be fine, I'm right here." She smiled and nodded slowly.

"Okay."

Suddenly the front door burst open and two voices squealed in unison "Bella!!"

**A/N: There you go! That was a treat for you guys (I wasn't planning to update until Sunday) for the **_**61 **_**reviews I got for the last chapter!! You guys are all amazing in my book, even if you don't think you are. I'll update as soon as I possibly can, okay? Don't forget that you can ask me anything; no matter how weird or random it is and I'll answer as best I can!! Love you, guys and THANK YOU!! :D**


	15. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or She's The Man.**

_Suddenly the front door burst open and two voices squealed in unison "Bella!!"_

**EPOV**

Alice and Rose practically tackled Bella, therefore, tackling me too. "Get off, guys!" I shouted.

They hugged Bella tighter for a second before letting go. They grabbed her and pulled her off the couch, almost knocking me to the floor in the process. "You have a lot to explain." I heard Rose say as she and Alice ushered an uncomfortable looking Bella out of the room. I sighed and sat back down on the couch, Alice would most likely attack me if I tried to rescue Bella from them.

"When is Charlie coming?" I asked Emmett and he looked down at his watch.

"He should be here in about twenty minutes." He answered. He grabbed the TV remote from the side table next to the couch and turned on the TV. Emmett surfed the channels for a few minutes before stopping on a college football game. In less than a minute, cheers and booing filled the room as Emmett and Jasper watched one of the teams intercept the ball.

I didn't pay attention to the game and my mind wandered to Bella and thoughts of who her attacker could be, who would fit his description…

**BPOV**

Alice and Rose dragged me upstairs to Alice's room to talk about, I assumed, Edward. I wasn't really comfortable being in a room alone with them without Edward but I let them take me anyway. As soon as Alice's door closed Rosalie started in "Why was Edward's head in your lap?" So, I was right, they wanted to know what was going on with Edward. "And why were you looking at each other like that?!" She asked, shocked and incredulous. Alice was sitting silently and calmly, just smiling at me.

Rosalie turned on her "How can you be so calm?! This is insane!" She looked at Alice like she was crazy.

Alice grinned and her composure cracked. She was glowing in excitement as she started bouncing where she sat "First of all, I've been waiting for this to happen since we were twelve! And second, I could tell it was going to happen soon because of the way they acted around each other and the way Edward was looking at Bella in the hospital!"

Rosalie glared at Alice "You knew this was going to happen to me and you didn't tell me?!"

Alice just shrugged, not intimidated by Rosalie in the least "I wasn't _completely_ sure. I was starting to think they'd never realize they were meant for each other." Rosalie nodded reluctantly, accepting Alice's excuse while I glared at the little pixie.

Alice smiled angelically and I opened my mouth to complain when the doorbell rang, interrupting me. I immediately became nervous, I didn't want to disappoint Charlie but everyone so close so suddenly was starting to overwhelm me.

We all went downstairs to see Edward waiting for us with Charlie behind him and Emmett and Jasper watching football. Alice and Rose joined their boyfriends but I noticed that all four of them kept shooting glances at me from the corners of their eyes.

I looked back at Edward and Charlie who were both watching me. Edward came and stood next to me, he put a comforting arm around my shoulders. This didn't bother Charlie because Edward did it all the time, which I was thankful for. "Hi, Dad." I tried to smile but it probably looked more like a grimace and Edward squeezed my shoulder gently.

"I'm right here." Edward said just loud enough for me to hear and I was glad I did. It was comforting, like it was meant to be, to know Edward was here and I smiled up at him.

"Hey, Bells." Charlie smiled his crinkly-eyed smile at me "How are you doing?" Some concern showed in his eyes and his smile faded a little.

"I'm okay. What about you?" I answered. I noticed how formal I sounded and I was talking to my dad. Charlie smiled again and opened his arms asking for a hug. I bit my lip and my eyebrows pulled together but after a short second of thought I stepped forward and hugged him. I concentrated on Edward's hand on my lower back just to be safe, I'd already freaked out from Charlie once, and I didn't want to hurt his feelings by flinching away from him again.

He finally pulled away with a huge smile "It's nice to know you're feeling better, Bells." I smiled as best I could and Charlie turned to Edward. "Thank you for taking care of my daughter and always being there." He patted Edward on the shoulder before turning to Emmett "So, who's playing and is it college or NFL?" Emmett laughed and made room for our dad on the couch as he filled him in on what was happening. Edward and I sat on the floor and watched the game with the rest of them, though neither of us were as engrossed in it.

When the game ended, Charlie said he had to go back home to get an early night because he had work early. I looked at the clock and realized it was almost seven on a Sunday. The door closed behind Charlie and Alice started bouncing where she stood "Movie night!!" she yelled in excitement. "Jasper, Emmett get the blankets and pillows. Rose and I will get snacks and Edward and Bella will get the movie ready. Go!" Everyone ran off in different directions to get ready for movie night. We'd had Movie Night every Sunday at seven PM since Edward, Alice and I were nine years old. Edward and I set up the first movie that was sitting on the DVD player, She's The Man with Amanda Bynes, as the guys got pillows and stuff and the girls got snacks.

Soon, all of us had paired off and were bundled up in blankets eating popcorn and a variety of other snacks as we watched Viola meet her roommate. **(Channing Tatum (Duke) is my favorite actor ever!!)** Emmett and Rosalie were on the couch and Rose was in his lap while Jasper and Alice were on the love seat in the same position. Edward was leaning up against the other side of the love seat on the ground and I was sitting in between his legs with my back pressed against his chest. We all laughed when Viola explained why she had tampons and I couldn't help but smile up at Edward whenever he laughed, which was often during this movie.

When the movie was over, we took a vote on who liked it and everyone loved it because of all the humor, especially Emmett, whose loud laugh was sure to be keeping up Esme and Carlisle who had retired to their room just before nine and at the end of the movie. We also decided that we could do another movie so Jasper got up and popped Step Up 2 in the DVD player. **(I've used both of these movies in my fanfic now! I love the dancing and I totally recommend this move.)**

He turned the lights off again and we waited for the movie to start. Step Up 2, didn't have as much humor as She's The Man but I still loved this movie because of all the amazing dancing they did. The final dance was extraordinary, the way they moved made it seem as if they defied gravity itself and it made me want to dance, but I'm pretty sure I'd break my neck if I tried that. Edward wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer making me sigh gently, I felt his warm breath on my neck and I shivered. He chuckled softly and kissed the indentation behind my ear "Do you like the movie?" he whispered in my ear. Not trusting myself to speak, I nodded my head and then rested my head on his left shoulder. He leaned down and kissed my neck and then brushed his lips against my collar bone, I bit my lip to keep from whimpering and I felt his lips pull up in a smile before he moved his head up to kiss along my jaw bone. His gentle warm lips brought comfort instead of fright and I felt safe inside his arms instead of terrified, there was not _one_ similarity between how I felt for Edward and how I felt about my attacker.

I would have to tell Edward soon, we would figure out a way to keep Charlie safe and I would tell Edward his name and he wouldn't stop until they caught him. I wouldn't have to worry anymore and we could all just try and forget this and move on with our lives. When Step Up 2 ended we all said goodnight and walked upstairs together. The girls and guys stopped on the second floor, the girls going into Alice's room and Emmett and Jasper each taking guest rooms. Edward scooped me up and, ignoring my protests, carried me upstairs and into his room.

He laid me down on his bed and lay down next to me, he continued kissing my face and neck and lips like before for a few minutes and then he took his place beside me, "It's late, you should sleep." he murmured and I nodded reluctantly, I didn't want him to stop. He pulled me close to him so my back was against his chest and he wrapped an arm around my waist. I started softly tracing patterns on his arm and it was his turn to shiver. He kissed the back of my neck one more time and whispered "Good night, Bella." I smiled.

"Good night, Edward." He hummed my lullaby and I soon fell asleep in his arms, feeling safer than I'd ever felt with anyone else.

**A/N: Sorry, it took so long guys!! This was pretty much a filler chapter but I plan on having Bella tell in the next one or two chapters maybe three, so keep reading!! ******** Under my favorite authors, I want you guys to check out all-hail-the-jello's and Bella-of-the-Ball's stories!! Review and I'll update!! :D**


	16. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight!! -sigh- I hate life sometimes…**

"_Good night, Edward." He hummed my lullaby and I soon fell asleep in his arms, feeling safer than I'd ever felt with anyone else._

**BPOV**

The next morning, I woke up in bed alone. I shot up in bed and looked around the room, but calmed down when Edward's laugh came from the bathroom doorway. He pulled his shirt on and smiled at me "Good morning, Bella."

I rolled my eyes "That is definitely an oxymoron if I ever heard one." Edward laughed again and I smiled at him.

"I want to go somewhere today."Edward sat down on the bed in front of me. I frowned, Edward wasn't usually one to push things, to want me to do something I'm not ready for and I _was not_ ready to see more people. Wait, maybe he was going somewhere without me. My frown only intensified at that thought as I stared at the bed sheets, wandering what he was talking about.

"Where are you going?" I finally asked, not looking up at him.

Confusion colored Edward's voice when he responded "What do you mean, where am _I_ going? I was thinking that maybe, if you were up to it, we could give our meadow a visit. We haven't been there in weeks and it's supposed to get sunny around noon. What do you say?" Edward smiled crookedly.

I smiled back "We haven't been in a while have we? I'd love to go! You know how much I like being there." I looked out his window-wall to see the clouds already thinning out.

Edward face erupted into a grin "Get dressed and I'll get us some breakfast, then we can go." I smiled at his excitement and he left the room.

I dressed and Edward and I ate breakfast with everyone one else at the kitchen table. I smiled as I watched them all interact, laughing and talking all at once, just like one huge family. "Are you ready to go? The sun will be coming out soon." Edward whispered in my ear. I smiled and nodded and he excused us before leading me out of the kitchen and then the front door. He opened the passenger door of his Volvo and I climbed into his car, he walked around the front of the car and soon we were on the main road, heading to the meadow we'd found years ago.

I looked in the rear view mirror and saw my guitar case in the back seat. I smiled; it had become a tradition last year, to bring my guitar to the meadow every time we went. I laid my head against the glass window and watched the trees flash past, thinking about all the times we spent at the meadow. Everyone else, everyone being our families and the Hales, knew that we had a meadow that we went to but they didn't know what it was like or where it was at. Edward parked the car at the end of the dirt road and we both got out. Edward opened the back door and reached in to grab my guitar from the back seat.

"Shall we?" Edward smiled and we walked into the jade forest together.

**EPOV**

I laughed when Bella saw the light of the meadow and ran ahead of me and into the wide open space. I caught up quickly and watched her twirl around in the midst of the flowers, enjoying the freedom. Suddenly, she tripped and fell backward, disappearing in the grass completely. I didn't freak out because this had happened before and I chuckled lightly, she popped up into a sitting position quickly and glared at me playfully. "_What_ is so funny?" She raised an eyebrow at me as I pressed my lips together in an attempt to hide my smile. She rolled her eyes and smiled before flopping back onto the grass and staring up at the blue-gray sky. I walked towards her, setting her case a couple feet away, and sat down next to her on the grass. She pulled me down onto the ground next to her and I looked at her quizzically. "You were too far away." She explained with a smile and I grinned crookedly.

"I know, I'm hard to resist." I teased and she rolled her eyes.

"You wish." She stuck her tongue out at me and now I rolled my eyes. "We both know I'm more irresistible." She joked, but I took it seriously.

"Well, I can't argue with that." I picked her up and twirled her around. She yelped in surprise but then we were both laughing and I fell over, her landing on top of me, after a few twirls. I sighed contentedly and pulled her close, she smiled in response and laid her head on my shoulder, still laying on top of me, and closed her eyes. We laid there for a long time, she just laid there with her eyes closed and I played with strands of her long chocolate brown hair. After a while, I wrapped my arms around her waist, her arms were already around my torso, and I closed my eyes as well. I breathed in a deep breath and Bella's freesia smell filled my nostrils, instantly making my whole body relax deeper into the grass.

I think we both fell asleep for a few minutes because the next time I opened my eyes the clouds were starting to move towards the sun, but it didn't look like rain. Bella lifted her head off my shoulder and rubbed her eyes "Did we just really fall asleep in our meadow?" She asked groggily and I chuckled.

"Yeah, I think we did…" Bella got off me and we both sat up and stretched. I yawned, which caused Bella to yawn as well and for a few minutes we kept yawning back and forth and laughing in between yawns. **(I kept yawning when I wrote that and it's only five right now!)** "How long have we been here?" I thought out loud and I pulled my cell phone out to check the time. "We're okay; it's only been a few hours." I answered my own question, putting my phone away and Bella nodded. We sat in silence just watching each other for nearly three minutes "What do you want to do?" Usually we talked a lot, but we'd been talking a lot and not having as much fun lately. Bella turned were she was sitting and spotted her guitar case. She pulled it towards her and opened it, pulling her beloved instrument into her lap.

"Can you sing for me?" She asked quietly and she smiled, her deep eyes a warm chocolate brown. I hesitated, sometimes Bella would play guitar and I would sing but we didn't do that often and I never liked missing out on a chance to hear her angel's voice. "Please." Apparently my pause was pretty noticeable and then I sighed.

"What do you want to hear?" I asked and Bella grinned.

"What was that song we heard on the radio the other day… I think it was by Gavin something…" She looked down as she tried to recall the song and her eyebrows pulled together in frustration.

"The other day?" She nodded. "Gavin… Hmm, maybe Gavin Rossdale?" If I was thinking of the right song.

Bella snapped her fingers and pointed at me. "That's him!" She exclaimed. "I can't remember the song name but part of the chorus was: I, never thought that I, had anymore to give." Bella sang part of the chorus and I realized what she was talking about.

"Love Remains The Same?" I asked. **(song on profile, go check it out!! )**

"Yeah, that's it." She started playing the guitar part and I nodded, I knew this song, it had been on the radio a couple times lately.

"Do I have to sing it?"

"Please, for me." She asked softly and her lip slipped into a small pout.

I smiled, crookedly "Okay, for you." Her eyes softened and she started the guitar part again.

"_A thousand times I've seen you standing  
Gravity like lunar landing  
You make me wanna run till I find you  
I shut the world away from here  
I drift to you, you're all I hear  
As everything we know fades to black_

Half the time the world is ending  
Truth is I am done pretending

Bella smiled and played without really paying attention to what she was doing. I smiled back and started the chorus my eyes locked on hers, I'd heard Bella sing this song before and it felt like I didn't bring it justice but it was what Bella wanted so I sang as good as was possible.

_I never thought that I  
Had anymore to give  
You're pushing me so far  
Here I am without you  
Drink to all that we have lost  
Mistakes we have made  
Everything will change  
_

_But, love remains the same_

I find a place where we escape  
Take you with me for the space  
The city buzz sounds just like a fridge  
I walk the streets through seven bars  
I have to find just where you are  
The faces seem to blur  
They're all the same

Half the time the world is ending  
Truth is I am done pretending

I never thought that I  
Had anymore to give  
You're pushing me so far  
Here I am without you  
Drink to all that we have lost  
Mistakes we have made  
Everything will change  
But love remains the same

A couple times Bella would sing with me but never for more than a line or two and it sounded better when she did. Our voices sounded amazing together and apart just didn't seem quite always right to me, her voice was still amazing but mine just sounded so much better when she sang with me…

_So much more to say  
So much to be done  
Don't you trick me out  
We shall overcome  
It's all left still to play_

We could have had the sun  
Could have been inside  
Instead we're over here

Half the time the world is ending  
Truth is I am done pretending  


_Too much time too long defending  
You and I are done pretending_

I never thought that I  
Had anymore to give  
You're pushing me so far  
Here I am without you  
Drink to all that we have lost  
Mistakes we have made  
Everything will change  
Everything will change

I, oh I,  
I wish this could last forever  
I, oh I,  
as if we could last forever

Love remains the same  
Love remains the same"

We were both silent for a long moment, just watching each other before Bella spoke "You have a fantastic voice. You know that, right?" She put her guitar away and placed the case a few feet away as she sat down cross-legged in front of me.

I scoffed "Not anywhere near as remarkable as yours." I murmured and she rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, you'll notice someday." I sighed and took one of her hands into mine and played with her fingers.

**BPOV**

I watched Edward as he played with my fingers. I did love him, I loved him so much. His hands on mine sent shivers up my spine as I watched his warm green eyes flicker between my hand and my eyes. "Edward…" I paused, I needed to tell him. I didn't want to ruin this serenity and this moment but he needed to know, it was important.

He looked at me expectantly "Yes?"

I took a deep breath and then let it all out in a big gust. I opened my mouth and after a second, closed it. _Come on, Bella! Spit it out, you need to say it before it's too late!! _I thought to myself. "Edward, My attacker was Riley. Riley Johnson."I finally got out and then I pulled myself closer to Edward and he wrapped his arms around me loosely, still shocked at what I just said, and I tried to ward off the flood of 

horrible memories. I cringed into his chest at images of Riley's face and cried out softly as I relived the pain and heard my screams as he raped me. Edward recovered from his shock and hugged me tightly, whispering soothing words as he gently rubbed my back and wiped the tears off my face. We sat like that, with Edward comforting me for a few minutes. I pulled away when I regained my control and took in his expression. There was only concern, no rage or anger like I thought would be there, then it dawned on me. "You don't remember him do you?" Edward shook his head slowly; I nodded "Remember, in ninth grade and our first semester of high school? That blonde-haired guy, Riley, who asked me out practically every day." No recognition showed in Edward's eyes so I continued. "He asked me out to the winter dance in high school and I was so fed up with him that I yelled, in the middle of the cafeteria, that I didn't like him and that I would never go out with him. Remember how he had said he would get me no matter what and then three days after that, his family moved to Seattle." Edward must have remembered because he was glaring at the tree behind me when I finished. He looked so mad and the fury on his face and in his eyes looked so strong, I was surprised the tree didn't burst into flames. "I'm guessing you remember him?" I asked hesitantly and he nodded stiffly.

Suddenly Edward was on his feet and he pulled me up too. He grabbed my guitar and started walking to the edge of the forest, pulling me along with him. Even in his anger, he was still gentle and careful not to hurt me. I followed silently, letting Edward lead me through the trees and towards his Volvo. After a while I asked "So, where are we going? Do you already have a plan?" I stopped dead when I thought of something, causing Edward to almost fall over because he was still pulling me.

"What is it?" He asked worriedly, his anger fading and concern taking its place.

"You'll be careful, right? If you get hurt… just be careful, okay?" He smiled and stepped closer to me.

He pressed his lips to my forehead and then leaned down and gently kissed my lips, he pulled away and rested his forehead on mine. "I promise to be careful. I don't intend to let anything happen to me and _definitely_ not you. Now, we should go." We started walking again and after a couple minutes, it looked like Edward was seething again, he must have been thinking of Riley.

"Where are we going?" I broke the silence as we broke through the trees.

"We are going home. I need to call a family meeting."

**A/N: OH, MY GOSH!! You finally know who did it –drumroll please- Riley!! Victoria's right hand man is the culprit! Now, feel free to start cussing at him and burning him at the stake! XD Now, I'm not one to demand a lot of reviews but I am expecting a **_**lot**_** for this chapter, seeing as it is my longest and that I finally revealed the criminal! So lots of reviews new chapter!! :D Oh, and those of you who are also reading my story Chat Rooms, I need you guys to go look at the notice on the top of my profile, it's important!! Review!**


	17. Another AN

**Hey guys, I am **_**SO**_** sorry!! I've really been getting into my studies and such, so I haven't been writing much :(**** The really bad news is that I'm putting Chat Rooms on hold until further notice. I might even delete it and start over or just post one of my other stories. Trust will not be put on hold for too long and most definitely **_**not**_** deleted!! The updates will be further spread though and this next one might be the worst because I have a terrible case of writer's block :(**** I can't think of how to make people react to the news… If any of you guys have ideas, please tell! I don't care how stupid or unwriteable (is that even a word? XD) it seems. I want to know! Again, I'm so sorry! As much as I love living in the Twilight Universe, I do have others things to attend to as well :(**** There is a new poll on my profile, it's really important so PLEASE go look at it!! And give me ideas :)**

**--Sierra Swan**


	18. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of the movies or songs I use in this story.**

"_We are going home. I need to call a family meeting."_

**EPOV**

I pulled up into the driveway as I hung up the phone from calling Carlisle about the meeting. Bella and I walked to the front door in silence and I held it open for her. She looked at me with curious and scared eyes. I could still feel my anger marring my expression. Riley! I had always thought he was gone! He'd always been so insignificant; a bug on the windshield. Now, he'd done something unimaginably horrendous to Bella and he was going to pay for that mistake, Emmett, Jasper, and I would make sure of it.

"Edward, Bella, what did you need to tell everyone?"Carlisle asked as Bella took her seat and I stayed standing behind her, too riled up to sit.

I looked at each person in turn: Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, and finally Bella. "Do you want to tell them?" I asked Bella. It _was_ about her, she should tell them if she could. She shook her head and I wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "It was Riley. Riley Johnson raped Bella." Unlike me, everyone, except for Carlisle and Esme who had only heard of him in passing, seemed to recognize the name and reacted quickly and unexpectedly.

Emmett stood and walked out the front door without a word, Rosalie followed after glancing at Bella worriedly and the door closed behind her. Jasper, usually so calm, slammed his fist on the table loudly "That freakin' _scum bag_!" He yelled and Alice flinched along with the rest of us. We'd never heard Jasper yell before, and the room had been so quiet. Alice got up and hugged Bella tightly, whispering something in her ear. "I'll be back." Jasper said tensely and he left the room, going into the kitchen. We all listened and heard drawers being opened and cabinet doors hitting the walls as they were flung open; there was a loud bang on the counter and the sound of rustling papers. "I have his address!" Jasper called finally, he walked back into the room carrying a phonebook which he dropped onto the table.

Carlisle stood up. "I'll call Charlie, but who's Riley?" He pulled his silver cell phone from his pocket. I quickly explained and he nodded before taking Esme and walking upstairs to his study.

"Alice, can I talk to you?" Jasper put a hand on my sister's shoulder. They too left the room, also heading upstairs to Alice's room though. Bella stood and we walked over to the couch and sat down with her in my lap. I needed to distract her, she was so fragile and I was positive she was being overwhelmed by all this.

I kissed her at the base of her throat and made a trail up to her jaw and behind her ear to a sensitive spot. She shivered "Edward." She whispered.

"Hmm?" I kissed across her jaw and back down her throat, her skin was so soft, it felt like kissing the pedals of a rose.

"I-I think you… s-shouldn't do that, not right now." My lips curved up, she seemed to be having difficulties remaining coherent, which only boosted my self-confidence and ego.

"We'll be fine." I murmured and pressed my lips against hers, reveling in the feelings of her mouth on mine.

We broke apart when we heard yelling upstairs "Jasper, you need to think! You can't do that; you need to think of the consequences!" It was Alice.

"Should we do something?" Bella whispered and I shook my head.

"They'll figure it out pretty quickly. They love each other too much to stay mad at each other for any length of time." I paused and said "Once we get Riley, do you want to start school again? I think it would be best though it will be difficult." Bella bit her lip and slowly nodded.

"I should, I'm already behind, even if it's only Sunday. I can't believe it happened on Thursday, only four days ago it happened… So much has happened since then." She murmured and I smiled. **(A/N: Sorry if my timeline's a little messed up :P) **

"Not all of it has been bad though." I kissed her lightly on the lips once more and then leaned back.

"What do you plan on doing?" Bella looked at me with a somber expression, but I could tell she was scared. She was biting the inside of her cheek and her eyes betrayed her emotions, as they always did.

"Emmett, Jasper, and I are going to find Riley. We'll make sure you have Charlie and some other officers here to protect you and Alice will also be here with Rose. We are going to make sure Riley is thrown in jail, but we'll deal with him as we see fit first." Bella frowned.

"Edward, you need to be careful. What if he hurts you? I'll never forgive myself…" She looked down but I already saw the tears forming in her eyes. I wiped them away and hugged her tightly.

"We will be fine, I promise." I reassured her. The front door opened and Emmet came through with Rosalie in tow.

"Where were you guys?" Bella asked.

"Emmett needed to take care of his anger outside." Rosalie winced at some unknown memory and touched Emmett's arm. He didn't react but walked over to us and pulled Bella from my arms. He let her stand up and then wrapped his burly arms around her.

"Are you okay?" He whispered into her hair.

She nodded "I'm fine, Emmett, promise you'll be careful?" He squeezed her once and then released her.

"We'll be careful." Everyone else came down the stairs together; Carlisle was the first to speak.

"Charlie is on his way with Officer Reynolds and Officer McKay; they'll be here any minute." I nodded and Jasper interrupted.

"You guys ready to go?" He asked me and Emmett, it seemed we all knew what we were doing without saying anything.

"Let's go." Emmett said. He kissed Rose like Jasper kissed and Alice and I stood, pulling Bella over to me.

I pressed my forehead against hers "Stay here, and be safe. I'll be back soon, okay?"

She frowned. "Do you have to go?" She whispered and I chuckled.

"Yes." I placed a kiss on her lips and pulled away. "We'll be back." I said to the others and I followed the guys out the front door.

In the driveway, two police cars were parked side by side. Charlie got out of one and the two other officers got out of the other. Charlie looked ready to rip someone's head off. We walked up to him and the officers. "Give him an extra punch for me." Charlie growled and he handed Jasper a pair of handcuffs. "You may need these." He said before walking past us and into the house, out of the light sprinkle of rain that was covering us.

"Let's take the jeep."Jasper said, leading the way to Emmett's huge Wrangler. We all jumped in, Emmett driving, Jasper in shotgun, and me in the back. Jasper told Emmett the address he'd found as Emmett started up the jeep and drove down our long driveway.

Emmett drove like a mad man; I was surprised he hadn't already been pulled over. We drove in silence, all of us seething. I knew they were furious, but I was afraid we were going to kill him at this point and then he wouldn't have to suffer in jail.

"I say we beat him within an inch of his life and then drag him back to Charlie."Emmett finally growled. We passed a sign that said: Welcome to Seattle.

Jasper nodded in agreement. "That sounds about right."

"I call first dibbs." I said, I knew it was childish but I didn't want Emmett to knock him out before I could deal with him.

They shrugged. "I don't care about the order as long as I get in a few good punches." Emmett muttered.

"Turn right and then left." Jasper said, looking at the map in his hands. The car fell silent again as Emmett followed Jasper's direction.

"Now… take the second right."He paused as Emmett drove past the first turnoff and took the second, turning into a neighborhood. "Turn left, we're almost there." Emmett and I sat up straighter at Jasper's words. "Drive straight to the end of the street then turn right and look for the house that says 3544."

Emmett turned onto the right street and we all started looking for addresses on the houses as Emmett's jeep crawled down the road at a snail's pace so we could see.

Halfway down the street I spotted the number. "There!" I practically yelled, pointing at a medium-sized house made of red brick.

Emmett parked the car by the curb and we all got out of the car and walked up to the house. There was only one car in the driveway, a cruddy looking Honda, and I hoped it was Riley's.

Emmett stood in front of me and Jasper and rang the doorbell. After a long pause and no one came, Emmett banged on the door. Still no one came.

"Step back." Emmett said and we immediately took two steps back. Emmett rammed his shoulder into the door with a loud grunt and the door swung inward, hitting the wall and leaving a dent. We all quickly came into the house and started running into rooms trying to find someone in the house.

Glass shattered from the back of the home and I looked up meeting Jasper's and then Emmett's eyes; we ran toward the back of the house and flew out the back door when we saw the broken window.

There, Riley, who was now much taller than I remembered but still shorter than all of us, was trying to climb over the back fence. Jasper, faster than both of us, ran forward and grabbed Riley, throwing him back and onto the ground. He grabbed one of his arms and pulled him up before he could recover and Emmett grabbed his other arm.

Riley struggled and looked at us with dark, hate-filled eyes. "Get off of me." He snarled at Emmett, who just squeezed him harder.

I stepped forward so I was almost chest to chest with Riley "You should have left Bella alone." I nearly spat in his face. Fear flickered across his face but it vanished quickly and he struggled to free his arms.

"What are you going to do Eddie?" He taunted. "Are you gonna take me to Charlie? Is that all?" I was surprised he remembered our names but I didn't think much of it.

"No, I'm going to make you wish you'd never moved to Forks and never met Bella."

Riley completely ignored my threat and taunted me again. "You're just jealous she didn't want you, she felt so good Edward and she loved every minute of it." I snapped, he was wrong, and he was going to pay for his mistakes.

My fist slammed into his face and blood spurted out of his nose onto both of our shirts. He gasped and panted for a second before he continued. "That's all you can do?!" There was a wildness in his eyes that couldn't be normal. I sucker punched him in the stomach twice and if it weren't for Jasper and Emmett he would have dropped to the ground. All he could do was double over in pain now.

I looked at Jasper and wiped my mouth. "Your turn." We started to switch places when Riley ripped his arm from Jasper's hands he pulled something black from his pocket and then a loud shot rang out and Jasper dropped to the ground. Another shot rang clear and I grabbed Riley's hand, turning it at an odd angle so he dropped the gun. Emmett punched him in the kidney and when he dropped to the ground, kicked Riley hard in the stomach. He grabbed the hand cuffs off the ground and hit Riley again and snapped the cuffs around his wrists.

I moved over to Jasper and knelt in front of him. His right leg was crying tears of ruby blood and a blossom of red was growing on his shirt. I ripped off my own shirt and shredded it into strips which I tied around his leg wound tightly. Emmett saw what I was doing and took off his own shirt and was already pulling it into shreds too, leaving Riley lying on the ground next to him looking knocked out. I took the remains from both out shirts and folded them into a pad which I pressed against Jasper's stomach shot. "Call 9-1-1!!" I shouted at Emmett who ripped his phone from his pocket and dialed the three numbers that would save Jasper's life. I barely listened as he relayed our names and location into the phone and explained our situation.

I pulled my own cell phone out of my pocket and called Carlisle. "Edward?"His worried voice said on the other end of the line. I explained what had happened since we left and he told me to just stay calm. "An ambulance will be there soon and so will we." Then he hung up and I looked at Emmett who was watching Jasper's pale face, helplessly.

"The ambulance will be here any minute." He whispered because he had to stay on the phone with the police operator.

I kept a constant pressure on Jasper's wound even though his blood was seeping through my fingers. Emmett saw this and ran inside. When he came back he had more strips from a shirt that was in the house. He folded them as I had and handed them to me. "Thanks." I murmured and removed the old one and immediately replaced it with the new one.

Sirens sounded in the distance, getting louder as they got closer.

**A/N: I UPDATED!! I am so happy! :D I'm also SO sorry it took so long guys, you know how school and writer's block are :(**** I have two favors to ask: one is to check out 'Tell Me What We Live For' under my stories and because my birthday is coming up in a couple weeks, I want you guys to guess how old I'll be, please!! Thank you guys SO, SO much! I also want to give a shout to: a.grl.can.dream and all-hail-the-jello! You guys are awesome, love you all! (Eww, not like that :P) Review!!**


	19. Chapter 17

A/N: No one guessed my age right; I'm shocked! (Well one did, Zack, but I know him so he already knew that. Don't worry, I beat him with a stick for cheating! :D) I turned 14 on October 19th! Most of you guessed I would be 15 or 16, but I did get a few 18s and a 17 and I'm pleasantly surprised XD

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

_Sirens sounded in the distance, getting louder as they got closer._

**BPOV**

Carlisle put his phone away and looked at the rest of us with grave eyes. "Charlie, we need to get to Seattle, now."

Charlie stood up straighter "We'll give you a police escort." He and his officers went out the front door to their cars.

"I'll explain on the drive, let's go." Carlisle led the way out to his Mercedes as Alice, Rose, and I exchanged questioning looks.

A minute later, we were screaming down the road to Seattle with two cop cars in front of us. "What happened?!" Rosalie finally burst out.

Carlisle looked at Esme, sitting next to him, and us in the rear view mirror. "They got Riley." My breath hitched. He was gone! They got Riley and now I was free to live my life.

"Yes!" Rose hissed under her breath and Alice got a very… devious look on her face.

"I'm not done." The skin around his eyes tightened as well as his grip on the steering wheel. "Jasper was… hurt." Alice and Rose turned white, even whiter than I usually was.

"How bad?" Rose sounded strangled and tears welled up in Alice's eyes. I wondered how bad I looked because I already felt like my left arm was gone… When Carlisle didn't answer, Rose lost it. "How badly?!" She yelled at him and it sounded like the loudest thing I'd ever heard in the confines of the car. Alice was crying now and tears were forming in both mine and Rosalie's eyes.

Carlisle stepped harder on the gas pedal, going over thirty miles per hour over the speed limit. "He was… shot… twice." He finally ground out. I'd never seen Carlisle look so mad and sad and totally overwhelmed. Melancholy smothered me and everyone in the car.

Alice's silent tears turned into sobs and Rose had tears cutting paths down her pale cheeks like razor blades. I felt hot tears splatter down my cheeks but I ignored them and wrapped my arms around Alice, who was closest to me, and put a hand on Rose's shoulder. She tried to shrug it off but I wouldn't let her and she immediately gave up as she looked out the window with practically empty eyes. "He lied."Alice sobbed "He lied, he said he'd be fine! He's never lied to me before." She whimpered into my hair and I held her tighter.

"He didn't know, he couldn't know, Alice." I murmured in her ear. I looked up and saw the tears in Esme's eyes, but they didn't spill over; she was being strong for the rest of us.

Jasper wasn't the only one who was wrong, so was Edward. He said it would be fine, no one would get hurt. Jasper had always been strong, he had to be. He was stronger than Emmett in some ways, stronger emotionally and mentally. And that's what I told Alice and Rose. He had to make it because he'd always been our rock; he held us together when there was contention and brought us all closer when we were already close.

Suddenly, the car screeched to a halt. We all got out and were bombarded by flashing lights from the, now five, cop cars and the ambulance. Alice cried out in a strangled voice when she saw Jasper being loaded into the ambulance, unconscious. I cringed at the sight of all the blood and bandages, now I was in tears as well as Rose. Before anyone could stop her, Alice jumped in the back of the ambulance and the EMTs slammed the doors shut and soon it was screaming down the street.

Almost all the neighbors were standing on their porches watching us and some were talking to the Seattle police who were arrived here before us.

I saw Edward and Emmett also talking to some police officers, but they didn't see us because they were facing the opposite direction from us. "Bella?" Charlie stopped in front of me. He hugged me tightly and wiped away some of my tears, I wasn't totally comfortable with the contact but I'd survive.

"Yeah, Dad?"

"They've got Riley in custody and they're putting him in their 24 hour holding cell now." He pulled away and held me at arm's length as I nodded. "I also got in a good punch when he was walking by with Officers Smith and Richards." He almost smiled at that.

"24 _hours_?! They're only holding him for one day?! What?" Rose exclaimed incredulously, she had still been next to us.

"They can't take away his right of Habeas Corpus."I explained, except it didn't really work.

She froze for a second and her eyebrows pulled together. "Can't take away his right of _what_? He still has _rights_ after what he did to Bella?!"

"His right of Habeas Corpus, his right to know what he's being charged with without being held by officials for a long time. If we don't tell him within the 24 hours, we have to let him go." I told her.

"Oh… Well, if he gets out, I'm going to kill him and whoever is responsible for him leaving." She glared at some point behind Charlie and he nodded.

"I'll speak with Seattle's department." He patted us both on the shoulders and walked away.

I sat down on the curb and put my forehead on my knees. All of this had happened so fast and it was all so overwhelming. Edward had found Riley and they got him, but Jasper was… shot. Jasper… when were we going to see him again? Was he going to be okay? That was the million dollar question or questions…. Was he going to live? What… What would happen if he didn't? A sob broke from my throat and I wrapped my arms even tighter around my legs. Alice would become one of the living dead without him and it would be like a cycle, we would all change more than what seemed possible and it would take years to get over, if I ever did. It wouldn't be pretty no mattered what happened. I never knew until now, just how much Jasper mattered to me, I knew I loved him, he was like my brother. It was just amazing how important he was, to _all_ of us.

"Come here." Suddenly, two warm, strong arms pulled me off the curb and into a lap. I lifted my face and locked gazes with Edward, green boreing into brown. New tears formed in my eyes and he pulled me tighter to his chest. He shushed me softly "We'll be fine. Jasper's going to be okay, I promise. Everything and everybody is going to be fine. We'll get through this, Bella, don't worry." His soothing voice was all I heard for the next few minutes as he reassured me. I rested my forehead on his neck and his soft crooning made me forget everything, like the flashing lights and sirens and the voices of Rose and Emmett a couple yards away.

But was he right? The last time he said everything was going to be okay Jasper was shot…

After a while, Edward stood up with me still in his arms, he did it pretty easily though there was a tiny bit of strain. "Come on, we're going to the hospital. Emmett and Rosalie called Mr. and Mrs. Hale, they're on their way and Emmett and Rose just left." He set me down and walked to his car with his arm around my waist. Edward opened my door and closed it gently behind me before going around the front of the car and getting in.

I watched Edward the whole drive to the hospital. I knew he was just as panicked as the rest of us, he just wasn't showing it. His grip on the wheel looked like he was about to snap it and his eyes were troubled, though he had on his poker face, probably trying to make me feel better. Problem was, I wanted him to show he was afraid of what happened and what would happen, I wanted him to show some emotion so I wouldn't feel as alone. I didn't want to see his cold, expressionless mask, if anything, I only felt more afraid because of it. I wrapped my hand around his and he looked down at me, "Are you okay?" I asked softly.

He smiled slightly. "Yes and you?" His eyes searched mine.

"I'll be okay." I murmured and squeezed his hand; he smiled a little and returned the gesture.

He parked the car and we jogged into the hospital, all calm achieved in the car was forgotten. Personal was rushing all over the place, taking care of patients and some almost ran us over. "There's Emmett and Rose." I pointed and Edward pulled me over to the corner of the waiting room where they were. As we got closer, I realized that Emmett had his arms around Alice. Alice, who was cowering in a tiny ball and we could hear her sobs as we got closer. She whimpered Jasper's name every once in a while and I winced every time. Edward sat down beside her and Emmett moved so Edward could pull Alice into his lap like he'd done with me earlier. He rocked her gently for a long time and whispered in her ear words that I couldn't hear. Sometimes she would whisper back and after a long time her sobs turned into silent tears.

Meanwhile, Carlisle and Esme had found us, and when Alice stopped sobbing Esme took her. Rosalie was now crying and Emmett had his arms around her. "It'll all be okay, baby, I promise, it'll be fine." I heard him say to her over and over again.

I laid my head on Edward's chest and he kept a comforting arm around my waist and pressed his face into my hair. For the next while, I went from crying to being fine to crying again repeatedly.

Once, a nurse came up to us and said he would be out of surgery soon but they didn't know what was going to happen. Translated, that meant they had no idea if he would live or not. I wasn't the only one who got that conclusion and Alice and Rose's tears increased.

Edward took me into his lap again, humming my lullaby, until the sun was setting outside the hospital window and everyone's tears were starting to dry at least a little bit. The Hales had also joined us at one point and Mrs. Hale's weeping was unbearable, between her and Alice I'd never seen people so sad.

"Jasper's family?" A new nurse was standing next to us. Some of us nodded or said yes so she continued, "He's stable now, you can go see him."

**A/N: Okay, not much happened here, just a filler chapter really. Next chapter, they'll see Jasper and maybe some of the trial/court stuff will happen. Oh, and when I said Jasper was stronger than Emmett emotionally and mentally I was NOT calling Emmett dumb! Jasper is just more sure of himself. Review please, please, pretty please!! :D And remember to check out all-hail-the-jello's stories!! I also want to give a shout out (whatever you want to call it) to ****.JasperXx, hey Tate!! :D Ok, now review!**


	20. Chapter 18

**Hey, guys, I'm so sorry I haven't updated… I haven't been able to write at all in **_**weeks**_**, it's been terrible :(**** But, I'm writing now, finally! :D I had some major writers block so, I'm kinda skipping the Jasper reunion… I'm too happy to write sad right now :)**

"_Jasper's family?" A new nurse was standing next to us. Some of us nodded or said yes so she continued, "He's stable now, you can go see him."_

**BPOV**

Two hours later, we were all sitting on the ground in the hallway outside Jasper's room. We'd all gone in to see him, first the Hales, then Alice, then me and Edward, and Emmett was last. Now, Mr. and Mrs. Hale were back in there with Alice. It was late, around ten, and I was starting to get tired. I leaned on Edward's chest and my eyes drooped with the events of the day. Rosalie had cried until she'd fallen asleep about a half hour ago and Emmett was cradling her gently. Sometimes I forgot how sweet and soft he could really be…

Seeing Jasper had only made me feel worse, this was my fault entirely. He had had a bandage around his chest and cast-like material around his leg. Seeing his face haggard and grey had scared me, I'd never seen much of any weakness in Jasper. Now, he looked fragile, like the smallest thing would put him in so much pain. The nurses had told us they'd keep him sedated for now, confirming that suspicion.

"Do you think you could come up with a way to distract me?" I asked Edward hopefully and he chuckled, but his eyes didn't sparkle, they were empty. I touched his cheek and sat up "It'll be okay, Edward." He'd been reassuring me this whole time but I'd forgotten that he probably needed reassuring too. His eyes softened and he leaned down, resting his forehead on mine.

"I know." He whispered. He touched his lips to mine and then pulled away again, leaning back against the wall and sighing. I studied his face like he stared at the ceiling. I knew he was worried; he was just being strong for me. He had always seemed to think of me as a flower, delicate and seemingly defenseless. Well, he was wrong. I didn't quite know how to prove it to him, but I wasn't defenseless. I wasn't always going to be the damsel in distress. I'll have to save him at some point… I know it.

I woke up to Carlisle talking with some other doctor. "He should be fine, we'll run some more tests and keep him for a week or two, then he should be able to be released." said a woman's voice.

"Thank you, I'll tell the others when they wake." I heard Carlisle walk past me and the other doctor walk in the opposite direction. I opened my eyes and looked around. Emmett was in a sitting up position with Rosalie still in his arms. Mr. and Mrs. Hale were in chairs that must have been brought to them and Alice must still be with Jasper, Esme was gone, and Edward was slightly leaning to the side and my head was in his lap. I slowly sat up and stretched before standing on halfway numb legs and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I brushed Edward's hair off his face and looked at the others again. Sighing, I went to the bathroom a few doors down. It was empty so it must still be early. The bruise on my face **(remember? Riley slapped her after 'the incident' It was a while back…) **was healing and I looked away from my reflection, rinsing off my face with a splash of cold water.

A while later, Carlisle came back when everyone was waking up. He told us all that Jasper should be ok and that'd he'd stay here to recover. I was so groggy earlier, it was like hearing the news the first time and everyone started hugging and crying again. Pale faces, regained some of their color and a little bit of the bounce was back in Alice's step. A nurse told us that'd he'd be waking up later that day or tomorrow morning. Emmett called Charlie, who came to visit. "After he was arrested, Riley lawyered up, was questioned and charged and is waiting for his trial, which is set to happened in three days." He announced to us when he got to Jasper's room where we'd congregated. We all squished together closer to make room for Charlie in the small room, so I was between the wall and Edward who had an arm around my shoulder that, fortunately, didn't alarm Charlie.

"What will happen during the trial?" Emmett asked.

"Well, they'll tell him his charges again publicly and then we'll have to set bail, then we'll call witnesses like Carlisle to the stand. We also added the charge of attempted murder late last night… we need to get a lawyer too…" He muttered the last part to himself.

"I'd be glad to be your lawyer, free of charge. I want that scum behind bars." Mr. Hale growled the last sentence. He looked at his sleeping son with bandages around his leg and torso.

"Thank you very much. It's beyond appreciated." Charlie nodded once, said his good -byes and left the hospital.

The rest of the day was spent much like the morning, just sitting and mumbling to each other every once in a while. We took turns going home and changing clothes and showering. They told us, when Edward and I got back from his house, that Jasper had woken up for a few minutes and, of course, I beat myself up for nearly an hour afterwards for not being there. As some of the color returned to Jasper's face, some of the brightness returned to Edward's eyes, the bounce to Alice's step, and Emmett's humor.

I was glad that nothing had really happened today, after the exhaustion of the past week or so, I needed an uneventful day. It was apparent that the others needed a calm day too, because even though we were in a hospital, Jasper was still stable and now in the recovery room, which was definitely a good thing.

After eating the tasteless dinner that the nurses had brought us, Emmett flipped through the channels on the TV in the corner of Jasper's room. Edward was sitting in a scarcely cushioned chair and I was in his lap with his arms around my waist and his face in my hair. Emmett settled on some comedy and within a minute chuckles filled the room, even though Emmett's laugh practically covered them up. It was nice to see that he was confident that Jasper would be ok, I knew he wouldn't be distracted by a TV show that easily if he wasn't.

Edward nuzzled my neck and I sighed, snuggling closer to him. "It's late, you should get some rest."

I didn't respond but laid my head back on his shoulder and closed my eyes, listening to his breathing and heart beat.

**A/N: Yeah, it was short but I haven't had ANY time to write at all!! I'm surprised I got that much… Ok, my Christmas break is on the 19****th****so I want to update before then at least once because I won't be able to update for a while after then, it'll be the first or something before I'll even be home. Thank you SO much for your reviews and I'm beyond sorry for the extremely long wait and then the really short, boring filler chapter. Next chapter, I think I'll go into the whole trial thing and stuff, ok? And I have a hope for this story, that by the time it's done we'll have 1 thousand reviews and we're already at 615, I know it's a long shot but… who ever got anywhere without hoping?**


	21. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or Twilight or that one qoute I use in the chap…**

_I didn't respond but laid my head back on his shoulder and closed my eyes, listening to his breathing and heart beat._

**BPOV**

The next morning, I woke up in Edward's bed. He must have taken me home last night... I looked around the room but Edward was nowhere to be seen. "Edward?" I called, but there was no response. I got out of bed and put on a pair of my jeans and because I was out of shirts here, I grabbed one of Edward's older ones.

I called his name again as I walked down the grand staircase to the first floor. Again, no answer. This was getting a little eerie, I'd been alone here before but it was weird for Edward to just drop me off here and disappear without leaving a note or _something_. "Anyone?" I asked the empty house in hopes someone would answer. After a moment of silence, "Well, fine then." I grumbled and walked slowly into the kitchen. It was raining outside and my mood reflected the weather, I hated Edward not being there when I woke up. It was one of the best parts of the day; going asleep and waking up with him being there.

I yelped when two arms wrapped around my waist out of the blue. Edward laughed at my reaction and placed a gossamer kiss on my lips. "Sorry I wasn't there when you woke up, I had to get something from the car and I couldn't find it." I turned in his arms, so I was facing him and smiled.

"What were you looking for?"

"My iPod." He smiled crookedly and patted his pocket before leaning down and kissing my cheek. Then my other cheek, my chin, my forehead, and my lips again, smiling all the while. "Bella." He whispered and he explored my throat. My head lolled to the side of its own accord, giving him more room. He kissed up and down my neck for a few minutes before pulling up, ignoring my complaints.

Fine, then I'd kiss him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him back down, meeting him in the middle as I went up on my toes. He didn't pull away this time but put his hands on my hips and picked me up, setting me on the counter I'd been leaning on before. Oh… well, this made kissing him easier, I should have thought of something like that.

My fingers braided in his bronze hair and I brought him closer. His hands traced my spine and I couldn't hide the shiver creeping up my body.

"I love you."

What? Did he just say….? Edward pulled away and his eyes were more intense then I'd ever seen them. "I love you, Bella." He whispered. I was beyond shocked and my hands dropped to my sides. He… loved me? That wasn't possible was it? I knew he cared about me it was obvious. But… Then I remembered the way he looked at me when he thought I wasn't watching, when he knew I _was_ watching. Edward loved me. I could see it in his eyes right now, an idiot would notice it.

"I love you too."

I didn't hesitate at all, there was no doubt in his eyes and his lips were on mine in a split second. Soft and urgent, warm and familiar.

Some people would say we were too young, we couldn't _love_ each other, because we couldn't know. That one kiss proved everything, he loved me, it had always been there, and I'd just never noticed it. Someone had said to me that no one under twenty or so could understand love and that's how I came about my favorite quote. "_No one is too young for love, because love doesn't come from your mind, which knows your age, but from your heart, which knows no age._" I whispered it in his ear and I heard him chuckle. Light, full of relief and just… happy. _I_ was happy. I'd never been more happy and whole my entire life.

"I love you, Edward." I couldn't help myself, it just sounded so _right._ He kissed my hand and then my forehead once more.

"And I you." We just stood there staring into each other's eyes for minutes. His eyes smoldered and I wanted to kiss him again. But the rest of the world wasn't on hold just because of what happened between us. Eventually, Edward's phone started ringing, shattering the beautiful silence. I growled and Edward laughed his musical laugh. Both of us were still panting slightly as we caught our breath from that last…_amazing_ kiss. "Edward Cullen." He said keeping his eyes on my face. His hand touched my cheek and I blushed crimson under his searching eyes. "Yeah, we'll be there in a few minutes, Carlisle." He paused, listening, "Thanks, we'll be there soon. Bye." Edward slipped his phone in his jean pockets and took my hand, starting to lead me to the door.

"I haven't showered yet." I whined at Edward. Oh, my gosh, I hadn't showered or brushed my teeth… I'd kissed Edward with morning breath!

"It can wait, love. Jasper's awake and I don't think he'd mind."He continued pulling me through the front room to the door. I slipped on my shoes by the door and Edward did the same. "Ladies first." He smiled crookedly and held open the door. I hurried to his car and got in before he could open it. I was practically bouncing in my seat as I waited for Edward to jump in. Turning on the radio I started flipping through his CD's with the hand that wasn't holding Edward's.

Oooh, I stopped and popped a CD in to the player and when the first song started, Edward smiled. I'd found The Hush Sound about a year ago and I loved how their lyrics were so original. Their song "Don't Wake Me Up" filled the confines of Edward's silver Volvo. We both sang softly as he drove to the hospital, I watched Edward as he glanced between me and the road in turn.

As soon as Edward parked, we were both out of the car and hurrying up to the hospital and then Jasper's room. Opening the door, everyone was gathered around him and we maneuvered our way around them to see him again. "Bella, Edward." Jasper smiled at us, weaker than he usually was, but I was only happy that he was here so he _could_ smile.

"Hey, Jasper." I smiled at him and took Edward's hand.

"What's up, Jazz? How are you feeling?" Edward asked as we stepped closer when Emmett moved over.

"Cruddy… I'll live though." Alice sucked in a breath when he said that, but Jasper didn't notice. She was holding his hand that didn't have tubes in it and was combing her fingers through his blonde hair in rhythm.

"Good, I'll hold you to that." I said "You still owe me a game of Rock Band; I think I could beat you on guitar." Emmett chuckled and when Jasper joined in, he started coughing and it took him almost a minute to calm down, which scared me. Gosh, I could be such an idiot, making dumb comments…

"I know you will," He finally answered, his voice a little more raspy "but I'd beat you on drums any day." Now, I laughed. I loved how, even in the hospital, Jasper could still make me laugh, kind of like Emmett.

"Ok, we'll settle this later then." I conceded.

"Deal." A nurse bustled into the room and started making her way to though machines by Jasper's head.

"Mr. Hale," she said, referring to Jasper, "you've been up for a while so we're giving you some more medicine. You can talk to them again later, okay?" He didn't put up a fight but just nodded. She stuck a needle in a tube connected to his arm and within seconds his eyes started to droop. He spent the last two or so minutes that he was awake having a mumbled conversation with his twin, Rosalie, and his mother.

Edward placed an arm around my shoulders as we watched Jasper slowly fall asleep. "What do you want to do today? It's only noon." He asked.

"I don't really mind, why don't we keep it simple and safe. I don't really feel like risking injury to any one today." I smiled at Edward. "Shocking, right?" I asked, my tone facetious. **(Facetious is my second favorite word! :D) **

Edward chuckled softly and nuzzled my neck "Of course not. How about we go watch a movie at your house? You haven't been there in days. Maybe we could surprise Charlie with a decent dinner." We shared a quiet laugh.

Suddenly my phone vibrated in my pocket and I jumped. "Hello?"

"Go out into the hallway, alone." Alice's voice hissed into my ear. What the heck? Why alone? She hung up and I put my phone away.

"Who was that?"

"Alice." I answered slowly. "Come on." I pulled him out into the hallway and was practically ambushed by Alice.

"Bella-" She cut herself off and glowered at me, then Edward, then me again. "Traitor." She grumbled.

"What did you want, Alice?" I asked, ignoring the remark.

"Nothing." She muttered.

"Okay, well in that case, Edward and I are going back to the house and watching a movie. Do you know if anyone would like to join us?"

"I don't think so… Rosalie is staying so, Emmett will be and Carlisle is at work, I'm staying too and I think Esme will be here as well. Of course, Mr. and Mrs. Hale will be here." Alice answered before waving, glaring at me one more time, and then flitting back into Jasper's room. I pondered on the fact that we still called Jasper's parents, Mr. and Mrs. and we called Edward's parents by their names, kind of odd.

"I thought we were going to your house?" Edward questioned as we waited behind another car to get out of the hospital parking lot.

"Your TV is bigger and the couches are more comfortable." That was part of the reason…

He smiled. "Works for me." The rest of the car ride was spent in a comfortable silence. "What movie do you want to watch?" Edward requested as we walked hand-in-hand into the house.

"I don't mind. You choose and I'll go make popcorn." I said, walking into the kitchen. I grabbed a medium-sized bowl from a cabinet and put a bag of popcorn from the pantry into the microwave. The bag popped up quickly and I dumped the contents into the bowl and walked back into the family room.

Edward was sitting on the couch "Edward?" He turned and looked at me and then stood. When he started walking towards me, it wasn't like he usually did. There was something almost… predatory in his eyes as he prowled around the back of the couch toward me. I set down the popcorn and looked at him again. "What are you doing?" He was almost to me now "Edward?"I asked shakily. He pounced at me and grabbed me around the waist, making me yelp. Edward pulled me over the back of the couch so I was laying on him. "Edward, what the-" I didn't get another word out before he pulled me into a heated kiss.

**A/N: I got it up before I left!! Which is in about an hour, by the way. They admitted their love for each other!! Yes, I know, it was kind of in a weird way but Edward knows Bella likes simplicity and the whole big fanfare thing in the meadow as been used a little too much… Merry Christmas to you all, this was your kind of your gift from me :)**** Have a good winter break and I'll update as soon as I can after my **_**two week **_**vacation.**


	22. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, I only own season four of House since Christmas :)**** Woo!**

**A/N: There has been a small bit of confusion that I want to clean up, Edward and Bella only **_**kissed**_** in the end of the last chapter! Just making that clear for a couple people who were wondering what the heck was going on.**

Moving on, at the end of the last chapter: _Edward pulled me over the back of the couch so I was laying on him. "Edward, what the-" I didn't get another word out before he pulled me into a heated kiss._

**BPOV—Trial Day 1 (setting bail and such…)**

I wasn't sure I was ready for this. Everyone said they'd be there for me and I knew they wouldn't let anything happen to me, but that didn't mean I still wasn't scared half-to-death. Charlie looked at the rear view mirror to see Edward, Alice, and I sharing the backseat. Emmett had called shotgun before anybody else could. Charlie was leading our procession of three cars in his cruiser. Carlisle and Esme were behind us in Carlisle's Mercedes and Mr. Hale was with Rose in her BMW M3 behind them. Mrs. Hale had stayed behind with Jasper who was asleep when we left.

We were all wearing nice clothes to look good in court. Edward squeezed my hand and smiled down at me, making my small little world seem right without even knowing it. "Bella are you going to be okay?" Charlie's eyes were still watching me from the mirror. I glanced at Edward once before I answered him.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Dad." He nodded and returned his attention to the road to Seattle.

"Are we there yet?" Emmett whined jokingly. Charlie rolled his eyes and nodded.

"We'll be there in about five minutes." It was a completely silent for those five minutes too, except for the thrum of the engine no one said anything. Emmett was staring out the windshield drumming his fingers on his legs and I was leaning against Edward while Alice just stared out the car window. I leaned over Edward and patted Alice on the leg, when she looked at me, I smiled reassuringly. Someone needed to comfort her when the person she loved was hurt. She smiled back weakly before looking back out the window.

"We're here." Charlie muttered as he pulled into a parking space. Everyone except for me got out quickly but I felt like my joints were frozen so I moved slower then usual, stumbling more. As Edward and I walked hand-in-hand toward the court house, Charlie slowed his pace and put an arm around my shoulders. Suddenly Edward became interested in a football game from last night and asked Emmett about it. "You know I love you, Bells." Charlie murmured in my ear, smiling appreciatively at Edward and then looking at me again. That would explain Edward's sudden interest…

I smiled at him "Thanks, Dad, I know." He nodded, and then walked a little faster to catch up with the others and hold open the door; he could only deal with showing so much emotion at a time.

Half an hour later we were all sitting in a court room. I was sitting at a table with Mr. Hale in front of a small gate that everyone else was behind, sitting in chairs. Edward had slipped his hand through the bars and was holding my hand tightly.

Riley and his lawyer weren't here yet. I was thankful for that, I still wasn't sure how I'd react to him being twenty feet away from me. I resolved not to even look in his direction the entire time. I refused to relive my memories.

**EPOV (I haven't done EPOV as much lately so here you go.)**

When Riley entered the room Bella didn't look up from the table top but everyone in our party turned to glare at him with hard, hate-filled eyes. There were only six people sitting in the chairs behind his seat. Two looked like they could be his parents and I expected the rest were neighbors or friends.

I heard Emmett mutter a few cuss words under is breath and my thoughts were somewhere along the lines of his: wanting to pull his intestines out through his freakin' nostrils. I hoped we'd all be able to keep ourselves under control during the proceedings, no need to complicate things. I smiled with a grim pleasure to see him walk with a slight limp and a bruise just visible under the cuff of his shirt sleeve.

When the judge entered we all stood and then sat when she did. Judge Grayson took a long look at Bella who was squeezing my hand so hard I almost couldn't feel it, and then Riley who was quietly conversing with his lawyer.

Judge Grayson cleared her throat "Riley Ray Johnson, the defendant, has been charged with the rape of Isabella Marie Swan, the plaintiff, and the attempted murders of an Officer Austin Mills **(remember him? from the hospital.)** and Jasper Hale, who are both in the hospital with gunshot wounds." She told the court and jury who was sitting to the right of the room near Bella's table. It was made up of six women and six men, I wondered idly if they had the same number of gender for a reason or if it was coincidence. "Where would you like to set bail at, Mr. Hale?" **(Ok, now keep in mind, I'm not a lawyer and I don't even **_**know**_** a lawyer so not everything is going to be perfect in the next chapter or two.)**

Mr. Hale stood and kept his eyes on the judge "Due to the extent of his crimes, we are trying Riley Ray Johnson as an adult."Mr. Hale said, looking at the clues that showed what he'd told us was true. Juveniles were not allowed to have bail or juries (It's true believe it or not.) "We'd like to set bail at two million dollars, for an attempted murder on an officer and a civilian and the rape of another civilian." He continued and the judge nodded but I could hear grumbles and objections from Riley's side.

"Your Honor, I believe that is an unreasonable amount." Riley's lawyer piped up.

"Mr. Rhoton," She said, looking at some papers on her desk "Mr. Johnson is alleged to have attempted to kill two people, one was a badge, and to have raped Ms. Swan." She was almost openly glaring at both Riley and his lawyer and I was hoping that meant we had a slightly better chance of winning, not that I had much doubt.

I didn't pay much attention to the next while; I just stared at Bella who was watching the jury sometimes meeting the eyes of certain members. She was practically trembling and I squeezed her hand, ignoring whatever the two lawyers were saying, I think it was their opening statements. Mr. Hale had told us that we'd get to hear the testaments of the witnesses on the next trial day. I was only snapped out of my thoughts when Judge Grayson spoke: "How does the defendant plea?"

"Not guilty, your honor."Mr. Rhoton answered. Riley, that filthy scumbag; if I could only beat the crap out of him one more time… **(OK that just meant that Riley said he was not guilty, it was not the jury.)**

Judge Grayson pounded her grovel "Everyone is expected back in this court room two days from now at the same time." We all stood as she left and the bailiff took Riley back to the holding cell until either the next court day or until his family paid his bail. Mr. Hale patted Bella on the shoulder and led her past the gate to us. I wrapped my arms and pulled her small body into mine. We fit just like puzzle pieces and I kissed her on top of the head. "You did great." I whispered in her ear.

She rose an eyebrow at me "I haven't even spoken yet."

Before I could answer, Emmett pulled Bella into a hug of his own and Charlie gave her a one armed hug and smiled reassuringly at her. We each said something to try and make her feel better and were about to walk out when someone, who I thought must be Riley's father, walked up to Carlisle and Charlie.

"You can't win, I have influences in Seattle. My son will not be put in prison." He glared at them and then Bella, I wrapped a protective arm around her and glared back at him darkly. Without another word, he turned and strode out of the room with his wife. Bella was shaking again and I kissed her cheek.

"I won't let anything happen to you, Love, none of us will. You're safe."I whispered.

She smiled "I know you won't and I know I am." I smiled back and we all left the courthouse together. Charlie had to go back to work so Emmett went with the Hales and Bella, Alice, and I went with Carlisle and Esme. We decided that we were going to go meet at my house later tonight and Esme would make dinner for us with Alice, Rose, and Bella. Nothing could soothe quite like a mother's cooking. Then we'd all watch movies and critique them and laugh and have a good time, like we did when we had a free weekend or during the day of a break or something.

Before we met though, we were going to check up on Jasper real fast and ask if Mrs. Hale would like to join us, since Mr. Hale had decided that he was already going to be with Jasper. Jasper was asleep but we told him about our day anyways, it was comforting to treat him like that. When we said our goodbyes again, Alice kissed Jasper on the cheek and Mr. Hale stayed with his son and wife.

**BPOV**

An hour and a half later we were home and all the guys: Carlisle; Charlie, who'd gotten off work early; Edward; and Emmett, were all watching ESPN (sports) with a bag of chips they were sharing between themselves. It seems all men _do_ have a weakness… I laughed softly at my own thought and shared my views with Rose who'd heard me because she was working next to me, chopping peppers. She laughed as well and we thought of more weaknesses men had, for fun: motorcycles or cars, sports, super models, video games. All men were doomed at the clutches of at least one of these things, we decided.

When we finished chopping the peppers for the home made pizzas, Alice came over. "Hey, Bella, can I talk to you alone?" She motioned to the dining room.

"Sure." We walked into the other room and I wondered what to expect from her.

She grabbed my shoulders and looked into my face for half a minute. "What?" I finally asked, raising both my eyebrows at her. "Are you looking for something?"

"What happened with Edward?"

Oh. "Umm… nothing, nothing is going on with Edward." I hesitated. I didn't know if I wanted to share that with anyone yet. It was still my little piece of blissful heaven and I didn't want to give it up.

"I know something is. Everyone knows that you've gotten romantic: First, Emmett can't keep a secret to save his life and second, you're kissing in public and obviously not trying to keep much hidden. But it was different today and yesterday… I don't know how to explain it." She looked at me curiously.

"Is this why you pretty much_ jumped_ me yesterday?"

"Oh, yeah… about that. I was kind of freaking out, and I was morbidly curious. I _am_ morbidly curious."She pouted at me and I looked away.

"I'll tell you when I'm ready." She sighed, she knew I was serious. When I wanted to be, I could be beyond stubborn, I wasn't telling anyone anything yet.

"Fine." She grumbled. When we walked back into the kitchen, Esme asked us to set the table so we got dishes and silverware and did as she asked.

"Bella, can you tell the boys that dinner is in one hour? We're going to finish this one pizza and stick the three of them in the oven, so you can go hang out with them." Esme added a few more pepperoni's to a pizza as she spoke,

"Yeah sure, thanks Esme."

"Thank you for helping, dear." She returned as I walked out into the living room where all the guys stared intently at the screen.

"Dinner's in an hour." I told them and they just nodded absently, only Carlisle and Edward looked at me. Carlisle just smiled and looked back at the screen but Edward kept his eyes on me. As I sat down next to him cheers went up through the others as one of the Baltimore Ravens broke away and made a charge down the field for a touchdown. They were playing the Dallas Cowboys so the boys were rooting for the Ravens; we weren't Cowboys fans in this house.

"So how are you feeling? It's been a long day." Edward whispered in my ear.

"Better than I thought, I'm actually kind of proud of myself." I smiled and Edward looked at me quizzically. "I didn't freak out." I stated simply.

"You have a reason to be proud." He kissed my forehead and we watched the last half of the game. The other girls came in halfway through the third quarter and we all watched as a family, a kind of dysfunctional family, but whose family isn't at times? Some of them weren't related to me by blood but in all the other ways they were.

Dinner tasted awesome, I swear Esme could be a cook for a restaurant. We had three different pizzas in the center of the table, one cheese, one meat lovers (pepperoni, sausage, bacon and ham bits, that kind of thing), and the last was vegetarian. We all had a good time but at moments it could be a little strained when we noticed Jasper's empty seat or someone said something about him. It wasn't quite the same without him.

Later, everyone was teasingly bickering over what movie we should watch first. Whether it be a comedy, horror, romance,action, no one could make up their mind. I didn't notice Edward was gone for almost a minute and then I looked around. Where was he? "Have you seen Edward?" I asked Alice.

"Umm, I think I saw him go upstairs." Then she went back to yelling at Emmett about how they weren't watching horror first and if he kept pushing it, she'd make sure Jasper beat the crap out of him in their next wresting match. I chuckled as I heard her threats while walking up to the third floor.

In front of Edward's bedroom door, I could barely hear quiet piano playing. I knocked softly and heard Edward say "Come in." Inside, Edward was playing with the dials on his huge stereo system. I closed the door behind me and walked over to him. He didn't look at me but continued changing settings on the stereo. I placed my arms around his waist and rested my cheek on his back. He set one of his hands over mine and used the other to continue fiddling. "Who's this?"

"Jim Brickman's "Lake Erie Rainfall."" He answered. (I have that on my iPod)

When everything was the way he wanted it to be, he turned in my arms. He moved his hands to my lower back and laid his cheek on top of my head. We just stood there completely silent except for the soft piano and kind of swayed where we stood. It was nice, I couldn't help just smiling. "You're beautiful." He murmured and I sighed happily.

"I love you."

He pulled away and took one of my hands in his and positioned his other on my waist as the song changed into my lullaby. "I love you, too. May I have this dance?" He smiled crookedly at me and I laughed.

"I'd love to dance with you." He held a foot out to me and I rolled my eyes. We both knew what would happen if I danced without help so I placed my bare feet on his. When I put my hand on his shoulder, he started moving. At first just swaying a little and then he started slowly twirling. Sometimes he sent me off his feet so he could spin me and then he pulled me back in again. I was starting to believe he was a total romantic by nature like he didn't have to even think about it.

Of course, there had to be a knock on the door that interrupted us. Edward slowed until we were just swaying again and invited whoever it was in. I kept my head on his chest. "Hey, are you guys coming in to watch the movie?" Alice paused halfway in the room. "Aww, how sweet…" She smiled at us and we both laughed.

"Yeah, we'll be there in a minute." Edward answered and after watching us a second she nodded and left. We swayed for the last half minute of the song and then I got off his feet. He groaned "Do we _have _to go down?" He pouted at me. I quickly touched my lips to his and then took his hand.

"Yes we do. They're expecting us." I pulled him out into the hall and he sighed.

"Fine." He muttered and I smiled, as I started to turn around he pulled me up into his arms bridal style.

"Edward, what are you doing?" I smiled and raised an eyebrow at him.

He chuckled "What's it look like I'm doing? I'm carrying my love down the stairs." I just rested my head on his shoulder and let him bring me down to out waiting dysfunctional family.

**A/N: Ok, I'm back from break and here's the result!! I hope you liked it :)**** It's the longest chapter so far. It's definitely one of my favorites :D Before I update again I would like you guys to take a look at **_**and review **_**my story on Fiction Press, **_**Daughter of the Moon, Sister to the Sun**_**, it's only one chapter and will literally only take two minutes to read. It's like two paragraphs, kind of like a preface but not. Please, you guys! There's a link to my Fiction Press profile on my FanFic profile at the top. I would also like you guys to review _this_ story. So, go ahead and press that little "review chapter" button under here. I promise, that if you distract it with cake it won't bite, I know from experience. Hope you enjoyed!**


	23. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. (Does anyone know if, since I've said it so much, I can stop putting disclaimers up?)**

_He chuckled "What's it look like I'm doing? I'm carrying my love down the stairs." I just rested my head on his shoulder and let him bring me down to our waiting dysfunctional family._

**Guys, we got over 700 reviews!!! Woot! You guys rock; thank you so much for reading this far and reviewing all the while!**

**EPOV Trial Day 2 (Sorry guys but I think the story dragged on a little too long to do all the days in between.)**

Bella hadn't slept well last night she'd woken up whimpering and crying twice, so around six a.m. we decided to forget going back to sleep and just lay there in bed. "Are you ready for today?" I asked her as we both stared up at the ceiling. She was on my chest with her arm around my torso and I had my arm around her waist.

"Not really."

"Just look at me and Charlie and Emmett and the rest of the guys. We're all there for you and always will be. You have _nothing_ to worry about." I murmured into her hair.

She smiled up at me "Thank you Edward." She whispered and tears welled up in her eyes. I wiped them away before they spilled over.

"Don't worry about it." I changed the subject. "When do you want to start school again? The teachers told me that they decided to keep your grades as they were when you left and because you're in all advanced classes when we take finals, they'll give you the tests for the classes below us, so you'll know the material. The school board agreed with their decision." Bella bit her lip and her eyebrows knit together as she thought.

"A couple days after all this trial stuff is over." She finally decided and I nodded.

"That sounds good. What are you going to tell Renee when she gets back from her cruise in a month and a half?" **(Way back in chapter 8.)** I asked trying to keep her mind off the court with other important and unfortunate details. Renee needed to know.

"I'll have to talk to Charlie, but I think he'll take that one problem off my hands… at least I _hope _he will." She sighed and closed her eyes. I watched Bella doze for a few minutes as I drew invisible patterns on her arms. She woke up around half an hour later looking a little more rested. "What time is it?"

"Eight o' clock. Let's go downstairs and get some breakfast."

Three hours later, we were walking back into the same court room as before. This time Riley and his family had beaten us here. I saw Bella glance in Riley's direction for the first time and she froze a little bit, but kept trudging her way up to her chair. She was stronger than we gave her credit for. Her teeth were clenched, her hands in fists, and her back rigid, but she could look at Riley. And she was livid. And obviously afraid. From what I could see of her face, her mood kept changing between anger and fear.

"Bella?" she looked back at me, still showing fear, but also curiosity and love. I leaned over the small gate separating us and kissed her lightly on the lips. "I love you." I smiled crookedly, showing my dimples. She visibly relaxed and smiled back slightly.

"You always seem to know what to say."She whispered.

"It's a talent." I chuckled and she smiled again.

When Judge Grayson entered the room, we all stood like last time. We sat after she did and waited while she looked through a couple papers for a minute. She looked up and took a look at Riley and his lawyer, then Bella and Mr. Hale. "We've set bail, which was not paid, given opening statements, and heard the charges, and the plea from Riley Johnson's attorney."She summarized and sat back in her seat. "Make you cases." She sounded kind of nonchalant for a judge, I thought absently.

Mr. Rhoton stood first and said "I would like to call Ms. Angela Kay Weber to the stand first. I was told she found Ms. Swan after the alleged rape." He stated loud enough for the court to hear and looked back to where Angela and her parents sat two or three rows behind us. I forgot that she had found Bella. We all owed her a thank you. Angela stood and made her way to the front of the courtroom where she sat on the stand.

"Ms. Weber, is it true that you found Ms. Swan?"

"Yes, sir." She answered in the microphone.

"Would you tell us what happened?"He questioned and she nodded.

"I was driving home from school when I saw a bright purple spot on the side of the road. I had time so I stopped on the side of the street to investigate. I saw it was a shirt and was about to get back in my car when I heard a moan from between the trees so I walked a few feet in and there was Bella." Her voice started to sound a little choked and it looked like tears were starting to form in her eyes.

Before she continued, Mr. Rhoton asked a question. "Bella? Are you referring to Ms. Swan?"

"Yes, sir." Angela answered and wiped her eyes with her hands.

"Please continue."

I tuned her out. I couldn't listen when she explained how Bella looked laying on the filthy ground beaten and broken. Bella had a tear sliding down her cheek and she was looking away. She wiped it away quickly.

"Thank you, Ms. Weber." Mr. Rhoton said when she finished speaking and he turned and sat back down next to Riley.

"Do you have any questions for Ms. Angela Weber, Mr. Hale?" Judge Grayson had listened to Angela carefully and so had the jury.

Mr. Hale stood up next to Bella. "Yes, I do, Your Honor." She motioned for him to continue and he looked at Angela.

"So, Ms. Weber, you said that your father came after you called him when you found Ms. Swan, correct?"

"Yes, sir. He came in his car and we took Bella to the hospital after wrapping her in some blankets and leaving my car. It was out of our hands after that."

"Thank you. No further questions, Your Honor." He took his seat and Judge Grayson let Angela leave and sit back with her parents. By the time she sat, she had two tear trails running down her cheeks.

They questioned Carlisle next. We hadn't really expected that but they only wanted to know one thing. If the DNA they got off Bella, matched the DNA they got from a swab they took on Riley. It was a match. Another doctor had come and he verified what Carlisle said. Then a police officer from Seattle spoke. They had found the gun that Jasper and Officer Mills had been shot with and Riley's finger print on the gun.

Also unexpectedly, Mr. Rhoton asked both Emmett and I to tell about what we saw occur at Riley's house. I'd been worried at first but all I had to do was tell the truth after swearing on the Bible that I would.

Then it was Riley's turn. He went up to the stand and the first thing Mr. Hale said asked was "Did you know Ms. Swan before the alleged rape?" I hated how they said _alleged_; we all knew it happened.

"I went to school with her from Jr. High to our first semester of high school. My family moved during winter break, between semesters."

"Why did you move?"

"It was time for a change." Riley ground out through his teeth.

Mr. Hale nodded in acknowledgement. "It wasn't because of Ms. Swan's constant rejections?"

"Objection, Your Honor!" Mr. Rhoton jumped up.

"Withdrawn." Mr. Hale said. Riley was seething and I almost laughed at his anger. "Do you have an alibi, Mr. Johnson?" **(Withdrawn basically means forget I said that.)**

"I had just gotten home from school; I was at home doing homework."

"Do you have a witness to verify that?"

"No, sir." Riley said reluctantly.

"I have a surprise for you. Can you please step down from the stand for a moment?" He did so and Mr. Hale turned to the back of the room.

"Mrs. Rollins would you step onto the stand?" He asked and I noticed Riley's eyes widen at the older woman's name.

She sat down at the stand after swearing to tell the truth. "Mrs. Rollins, you are the principal at Riley Johnson's high school, correct?"

"Yes, Mr. Hale."

"Was Mr. Johnson on the record for being present at school on the day of the alleged rape?"He had them, I smiled grimly, they hadn't anticipated this.

"No, Mr. Johnson was recorded absent all day." Mrs. Rollins answered. Mr. Hale thanked her and when Mr. Rhoton said he had no questions she sat back down and he called for Riley to get back on the stand.

"So, Mr. Johnson, since you weren't in school, were where you?"Mr. Hale almost looked smug; _almost_.

Riley didn't respond for a moment, but just stared blankly at Mr. Hale and then looked at his attorney who nodded. Then, he switched gears completely, apparently they were prepared. "I went for a drive, when I found myself driving through Forks, I saw Bella and stopped a bit ahead of her. When I got out of the car and she saw me she turned and walked into the forest on the side of the road, so I followed her." Maybe he was going to confess… that would make things a lot easier. "When I found her again, she was waiting. She said she hadn't seen me in a while and it was good to see how I was doing. She said she took back all her former rejections and then she practically ambushed me and wouldn't stop kissing me; she started pulling my clothes off." Riley launched into this story where _he_ became the victim. I was shaking I was so angry at how he described my Bella.

When he finished telling his vulgar lie, Judge Grayson looked at Bella. "Ms. Swan, is this true?"

"No, Your Honor, it's not." A tear rolled down Bella's cheek and even though it was too late and people had seen it, she wiped it away as quick as she could. I couldn't even see straight now. I was ready to rip out Riley's jugular and shove it up his nose for treating her like this and making her cry. Emmett wasn't in better shape than me and was making plans on torturing Riley under his breath next to me.

Then Bella took her turn on the stand. "Ms. Swan, can you please tell us your side of what happened?" Mr. Hale looked regretful to ask her this but he had to do it anyway.

"I was walking home from school when I saw Riley. I walked into the forest a few yards so I could just go around him through the forest, but he came after me." She took a deep breath and her eyes never left me or Emmett or the others, she always had her eyes on one of us. "He said he hadn't seen me in a while and I told him that my rejections from before were still valid, if not stronger." She looked at me. "He wouldn't listen to me, he kept saying I must like him a little bit, when I refused it he slapped me across the face." You could still see the faint healing bruise on her cheek to prove it. "Before I could recover from the shock, he pinned me against a tree." She gulped and took a shuttering breath "He started to kiss me again and his hands went under my shirt…" I couldn't listen anymore. I almost got up and left. But I kept my eyes on Bella. I needed to be strong for her, she was counting on me staying. That didn't mean I needed to know the details of what happened though. "… He finished and spat on me before getting up and leaving me there. I thought he took my shirt with him but he must have left it on the side of the road and that's what Angela saw. It felt like forever had taken place before Angela showed up and helped me. Is that all you need to know?" Bella was silently crying most of the time she spoke and she tried to wipe the tears away again.

"Yes, Ms. Swan. You may sit down. I believe the jury has heard all they need to hear. We will give them six days to talk amongst themselves and make a decision."Judge Grayson stood and left the room and Riley was taken away again. Bella came through the gates and I immediately pulled her close and wiped away her tears.

"Shhh, it's okay." I reassured her for a moment and she kept her head on my chest. "It's over, we've got him. Here, Charlie wants to see you." She nodded and pulled away so Charlie could hug her too. He muttered something in her ear and I turned to the back of the room. Angela's family was getting up to leave.

I caught up to them. "Angela?" She turned around.

"Yeah, Edward?" I stopped in front of her and smiled.

"Thank you. For helping Bella and for testifying in court." She smiled back and we hugged for a second before saying good-byes and her family left.

I went back over to my family and they were all getting ready to leave as well. Bella was in the middle of them so I walked over to her and took her hand in mine. Something on her face made her look almost… _jealous_ for a reason. "What did you say to Angela?"

"I just thanked her for helping you and for testifying to help get Riley behind bars. I hugged her because she helped make this possible." I leaned down and kissed Bella softly.

She smiled and pulled away. "Okay, that's fine. While you were over there Charlie told me that he would talk to Renee but when she gets back I should expect a frantic phone call anyways."

I chuckled "That sounds about right, knowing Renee…"

An hour later, Bella and I were at her house. She gathered a few things that she could bring to my house and started the laundry which it looked like Emmett and Charlie hadn't done since she left. She had decided that she needed to be with her family for the day so I was staying for dinner then I'd go home and she'd sleep here. She had a phone on her bed side table if she needed anything.

I helped her make spaghetti for dinner and when Emmett and Charlie got home they practically suffocated her, they hugged her so tightly. "We're going to live!" Emmett yelled and Charlie chortled and patted Bella on the shoulder.

"Nice to have you home, Bells, you're hardly ever over here, especially lately."

"I'm avoiding Emmett." She teased and he stuck his tongue out at her.

"Ah, brother and sisterly love." Charlie chucked and sat down at the kitchen table. "So, what are we eating?"

"Spaghetti." Bella told him as she turned off the stove. "Who's hungry?"

"Me, me, me!" Emmett yelled and waved his hands around from his seat at the table.

Dinner was a pretty quiet affair. The only really talkative one of us was Emmett and he was busy shoving food in his mouth. Eating was the _only_ time he was quiet.

Emmett and Charlie did the dishes when we were all finished and they left to go watch a basketball game after that. Bella and I wandered up to her room and sat on her window seat. We didn't say anything, just watched each other, I'm not sure what she was doing but I was memorizing her face for the millionth time. "I know we've both kind of said it, but I don't think it's really official and I want it to be." I reached over and pulled Bella into my lap. "Will you be my girlfriend? I want it to be official, that you're mine." I smiled crookedly and she touched my cheek.

"You really have to ask, Edward?" I just shrugged and she smiled softly.

"I think it's safe to say I'm yours."

**A/N: Woo, so the trial stuff is almost done! Then you'll know the verdict and such!! Ok, so I'm not sure at the moment, but I think there's only going to be three or four chapters after this… including the epilogue. Maybe. I know, **_**finally**_**, right? So, I'm not sure what exactly I'd write about yet but if you guys want me to and if you give me ideas, I could do a sequel? Your choice really. Remember my little hope for this story? To make a thousand reviews before it was over? Well, I don't think that's gonna happen :(**** So I've lowered the bar to 800 reviews, unless you guys think you can do better than that…? –wink, wink, nudge, nudge—Review please and go check out my story on Fiction Press, link on my profile. Oh yeah, and a 'shout out' to my first beta EVWTForever! You rock! :D Thank you, thank you very much. **


	24. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: This whole disclaimer thing is really getting on my nerves… don't you guys know by now that I don't freakin' own Twilight!! Gosh :P**

"_I think it's safe to say I'm yours." _

**BPOV**

The next six days dragged on for what felt like an eternity. The only thing that couldn't have gone faster was when Edward and I told Charlie about us and how we were now officially going out.

Charlie had seemed slightly shocked but not as much as I thought he would. Apparently he'd been expecting this for years now. Were Edward and I the only ones out of the loop on our obviously-soon-to-be-romantic relationship?! For crying out loud, why couldn't they have just told us? I would have had a lot more time kissing Edward. Not that we weren't making up for things now that we didn't have to hide from my dad.

Everyone kept telling me this was in the bag, that we'd never have to worry about Riley again. A part of me wanted to believe them and the rest of me thought that karma had to get back at me for having Edward and set Riley free. It would be just my luck. No one would let me worry so they tried to keep me busy. They told what was going on at school since everyone but Edward went practically every day and Edward went at least three or four times a week. I wouldn't let them fail school just because of me. Sometimes they'd tutor me, so I'd be more caught up and I was truly thankful for that. School was definitely going to be hard enough without being way behind.

Jasper had come back yesterday and was in a wheelchair. Carlisle didn't want him on crutches because, sure he'd be off his leg, but he didn't want Jasper to strain his heart or anything. The other bullet had gone through his shoulder barely missing bones and all the important stuff. Everyone's tension was eased slightly to have him back at home, and we visited the Hales' house every day. He would be OK, even though he was on pain medication and couldn't be very active yet.

This afternoon would be the deciding time. Riley would be chosen guilty or not guilty and I would have to live with the decision and move on with my life. I still wasn't quite sure how I'd react to his being not guilty though… I was really hoping none of the guys tried to kill him. This time Mrs. Hale was staying home with Jasper and I was happy she wasn't in the _hospital _with him.

Everyone else was coming for support. I also had my suspicions that if Riley was found not guilty they'd planned to all gang up on him.

The ride to the courthouse was quieter than all the others had been so far. Edward held my hand and I leaned my head against the cool window to help clear my mind. It was raining outside and I watched the drops trail down the window slowly. The trees flashed by as we got closer and closer to my worst nightmare and I squeezed Edward's hand tighter.

After we parked and walked into the court room, everything passed in a blur and I couldn't really make myself concentrate at first. I finally snapped myself back to reality when I heard Judge Grayson's stern voice. "Has the jury made their decision?" Everyone turned slightly to look at the jury expectantly. The jurors' expressions ranged from poker faces to looking around the room restlessly, never looking anyone in the eye.

Juror number one, a tall thin man in an expensive looking suit, said "Yes, we have Your Honor." She made a motion for him to continue and as the man looked at some of his fellow jurors, it felt like the eternal past six days could have fit in those few seconds. I felt like I would explode if he didn't just tell us the freakin' verdict! He met Riley's eyes and it looked almost like his eye twitched, then he looked at me. I guess he could tell I was about to attack him because he looked back at the judge and opened his mouth to _finally_ speak. "We find the defendant, Riley Ray Johnson…" Just say it!! I screamed at him mentally and Riley's father stood up slightly in anticipation. "…guilty on the charges of the rape of Isabella Marie Swan and the attempted murders of Officer Austin Mills and Jasper Hale."

The room was completely silent for all of two seconds and then Emmett was cheering along with Charlie, totally forgetting where they were and Mr. Johnson was yelling something at the judge while his wife started crying. Suddenly, Riley stood and was charging, for lack of a better word, towards me. I stood up quickly and took a few steps back. What the heck was he doing?! There was a cop, two cops actually, with guns in here and he was going to attack me? His face looked so much the same now as it had that day another lifetime ago. I don't know if Edward was expecting this or something but he practically pole vaulted over the swinging gate and landed in front of me.

He stood protectively in front of me as I cowered into Mr. Hale who had stood and was just behind me. Edward towered a good four inches above Riley, who stopped short and was glaring at Edward from a few feet away with his hand in his coat pocket. The bailiff was now standing ten feet away from all of us with his gun trained on Riley's heart. "Order in the court!" Judge Grayson yelled at all of us and glared sharply. The jury, which had all jumped up in panic, slowly sat down along with everyone else except Emmett who joined Edward in front of me, his fists clenched tightly. Charlie had pulled out his own pistol and had it pointed at Riley as well.

"Mr. Johnson, show me your hands now. Put them up where I can see them." The short but burly bailiff ordered him.

Riley just smirked at him and then sneered at Edward and Emmett, before he moved a little to the side so he could see me. I shivered as he smiled at me in his sick way. "This is not over, Bella. I'm not done with you just yet."

**A/N: Aren't you guys just amazed with my ability to end nearly every chapter with a cliff hanger?! I owe a thank you to my new beta EVWTForever and also to**** 'stab me and i will be your bff' for a little help with the court stuff (Sorry, ur penname wouldn't work with all the periods). Guys, I'm SOOO happy, we're going to make it past 800 reviews!! Thank you guys SOO much! I love you all (Eww, not like that! Nope, too late, you ruined the moment.) Just kidding, now run along and review this chapter! I'm raising the bar to hit 850 before the end so rise to the challenge guys!!**** Vote in my poll please. Oh and sorry for the long wait, you all know how school is…**


	25. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything… No, really, I don't. :P**

"_I'm not done with you just yet."_

**EPOV**

Emmett and I both took a step towards Riley and he pulled his hand out of his pocket. He held his hands at his shoulders with the same obnoxious sneer on his face. The bailiff slowly advanced on Riley with his gun pointed at him, when he was close enough he replaced it in his holster and pulled Riley's hands behind his back roughly. He didn't fight back as the man put his hands in cuffs but just stared at Bella piercingly. I turned once he was cuffed to face Bella. She was staring back at Riley and trembling slightly. I touched her arm and she flinched back.

I was more than a little hurt seeing her flinch away from me like that. "Bella?" I whispered. She just looked away, ashamed and a tear slid from her eye.

"Order in the court, everyone take their seats!" Judge Grayson pounded her gavel as she commanded us for order. I clenched my teeth and reluctantly walked back to my seat. My father placed a comforting hand on my shoulder and I sighed.

"We will reconvene tomorrow at 2 o' clock for sentencing." She looked around the court room. She stood, as well as everyone else, and swept at of the room.

I didn't pay attention to anything just went to straight to Bella. She looked at me for a quarter of a second before wrapping her small arms around my waist. I pulled her closer and pressed my face into her hair. "I'm sorry." She whimpered and I stroked her hair softly.

"You have no reason to be." I muttered. I held her for a moment before pulling away and looking into her eyes. "It's over." I smiled at her "He's going to jail!" She acted like this was the first time she'd received the news and she didn't seem to know how to react.

Her warm brown eyes grew to the size of saucers and she looked completely shell-shocked. I couldn't help but laugh softly at her expression. Emmett who had joined us when I was telling her the news laughed louder than I had and scooped her up into a bear hug, she hugged him back just as tightly. I couldn't see her for almost three minutes because everyone was hugging her and Alice and Rose who had come today were both crying. When I did see her she was crying as well, but they were good tears, she was smiling through them and I walked over and wiped them away. I slung an arm around her waist and Emmett rested his arm around her shoulders, as we walked out we passed Riley.

"Slut." He growled under his breath at her and she stopped dead in her tracks. Simultaneously Emmett and I both converged on him.

"Boys, step back!" The bailiff ordered.

"You heard what he said to my sister!" Emmett snarled back at him and he glared at Riley with pure hatred. I felt my lips curve into a snarl as well.

Bella stumbled back a step or two and her eyes stayed locked on Riley. Everyone else had been walking a little ahead of us and were probably in their cars waiting. "What are _you_ gonna do about?" Riley raised an eyebrow at us. He'd stepped over the line a while ago and now I was about to punch him, unfortunately the officer intervened.

"I'll take care of him." He said and started to pull him back. I spit on Riley's shoes and turned to face Bella. I had to do something and since I wasn't allowed to hurt him…

I took Bella's hand and, as gently as possible, led her from the building. When we got into Charlie's cruiser Bella just stared forward and I glared out the window, trying to lose some steam. I tuned out Emmett explaining what had happened to us.

After about fifteen minutes of driving I felt Bella lean against my side and she rested her hand on my knee. I finally took my gaze off the scenery flashing by and looked down at her warm chocolate eyes. She reached up and touched my cheek gently "I'm okay, don't be mad. Please."

I sighed and turned to face her more. "I'm only mad that I can't really retaliate. I should have been able to beat him to a pulp for what he did and said…" I moved closer and whispered so the others wouldn't hear "I know you're more scared than you're letting on, and you shouldn't be, I should be able to make sure of that but I can't and I hate it." I leaned back against the seat and stared up at the tan ceiling of the car. She didn't say anything in response but kept her hand on my knee and I found it comforting to just know that she was there. It didn't take long for me to start to feel guilty. Here she was, comforting me, and she was the one who needed it more.

I looked down at her and she was leaning back like I'd been a few minutes ago and her eyes were closed. I looked at Emmett and Charlie who were conversing about something that I couldn't make myself concentrate on. I picked up her hand and lifted it to my face and kissed it softly. Her eyelids fluttered a little but stayed close. I grinned when her lips turned up the smallest bit in a smile and I touched my lips to her cheek. Now her eyes opened and she snuggled into my side, sighing contentedly.

We spent the rest of the ride just sitting in comfortable silence. When we got home everyone was there as well, even Jasper and Mrs. Hale. Esme and Alice were making dinner, some kind of cuisine or something by the looks of it. Esme hugged Bella tightly when she saw her and said something into her ear before releasing her and announcing to everyone that dinner would be ready in ten minutes.

Dinner was a meal and celebration wrapped into one. Jasper was home again and looking better by the day and Riley had been found guilty. Everything was getting back into order. Bella told everyone that she wanted to start school again next Monday, in four days, and that caused more celebration.

We spent most of the evening in the living room talking and sometimes playing little games. When everyone started to return to their homes, Bella told Charlie that she was staying here again and they hugged, as well as her and Emmett, before both men left the house. After Rose and Emmett had a quick make out session of course.

A little over an hour later, past eleven o' clock, Bella and I were both in my bed and in our pajamas. She had her back to me and I had her pressed up against my chest with my arm around her waist. I was using my other hand to play with her hair as she tried to sleep.

"You know, it's really hard to sleep when you distract me like that." I moved on to drawing pictures on the bare part of her arm.

"Like what?" I asked innocently. I kissed her ear and she shivered sharply as her breath hitched.

"Can you handle my being in here?" She asked teasingly.

"I'm sure I can handle it."

"Prove it."

"I'd rather prove something else." I murmured kissing her again except on the lips now. She kissed back for a few seconds before lying back on the pillows.

"Oh? And what would that be?" She smiled.

**BPOV**

Edward's eyes scorched me in the darkness. "How about… how much I love you?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and I laughed. I knew he wouldn't do anything like that, he was just messing around. Not that I had a problem with that…

I pulled him down until he was an inch away and our breaths mingled. "I love you, too." I whispered and then I kissed him again. I tangled my fingers in his bronze hair that was still slightly wet from his shower a while ago and I sighed slightly. I could feel him smile into the kiss and after a minute I pulled away again. We layed next to each other and controlled our breathing with a little difficulty.

"Did you prove your point?" I laughed kind of breathlessly.

"I think I might have. Do you need more persuading?" He smiled mischievously.

"Maybe a little more." I kissed him again a little more fiercely.

He pulled away from me less than ten seconds later "Are you good?"

"No, no, I need a little more." And I pulled Edward in _one_ more time.

**A/N: Hey peoples, what's up?! Another new chapter, and guess what! A new story!! :D I posted a new E/B and AH fanfic, so go read and review it before I update Trust again! It's called "On the Corner of First and Amistad." You guys have amazed me AGAIN and we've surpassed 850 reviews… Maybe we can make 1,000 reviews, well, don't let me down; keep 'em comin'!! Thank you guys SOOO much!!**


	26. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: Don't own Twilight.**

"_No, no, I need a little more." And I pulled Edward in _one _more time._

**EPOV**

**TWO WEEKS LATER**

Everything has been going great since Riley was found guilty. The next day he was sentenced to thirty years in prison and we threw a kind of small party the day after that, on Saturday. Bella started school that Monday which was bittersweet.

It seemed to have circulated around the school, what had happened to Tyler and Mike a while ago and people gave her a small birth so there was always a slight bubble of space around her. I thought that could have only helped but it annoyed Bella like all get-out. She couldn't really blend because of it but I think she was secretly grateful for the space, I knew I was, and things became more normal by the end of the week. We were on the Thursday of her second week and people seemed to have practically forgotten what had happened.

Renee was back in Florida with Phil, they had gotten back from the cruise finally. Like Charlie had warned Bella, she'd gotten a frantic phone call from Renee that had lasted nearly two hours. It took Charlie, Emmet, and Bella to convince her that she didn't need to travel to Forks to check-up on her daughter. We'd been sitting in her room with her in my lap as she talked when she'd told her mom about us. She sounded kind of the same as Charlie except more enthusiastic. She almost screamed at Bella to give her details not knowing that I was sitting right there and the phone was on speaker.

Unfortunately, Bella ruined my fun and told her that I could hear them. Renee had abruptly remembered that she had somewhere to be, said goodbye, and hung up.

Now, Bella and I were sitting at our lunch table and surrounded by friends/family. We were holding hands under the table in her lap and I wasn't catching _one_ word being said by the others. Not that I was ashamed of the fact, I was just too busy staring at Bella. She was smiling as she talked to the others and every once in a while her beautiful face would flush pink at some unheard comment and she would look away shyly. Sometimes she would glance at me and catch me staring, which always made her flush redder before she could hide her face behind a veil of her brown hair, which I always swept back so I could see her again. I blinked and looked away from her at Emmett who was laughing so hard he was changing colors. "Is he gonna be alright?"I raised an eyebrow and nodded my head in Emmett's direction. Rose just shrugged and watched fondly as he tried to regain control.

Bella leaned into my side and sighed as her eyes closed. "Bella wake up, there's no naptime in high school!" Jasper grinned at her; he was looking much better as well, almost completely recovered. He just couldn't wrestle with Emmett for awhile though and that had gotten lots of complaints.

Bella just stuck her tongue out at him and closed her eyes again after popping a French fry into her mouth. I ate my food quietly as the others messed around and teased each other until the bell rang. We all groaned in unison and Bella opened her eyes reluctantly. She stood and stretched a little bit before waiting for me to stand. Which I didn't. "You coming?" She looked at me expectantly and I grinned crookedly.

"I think I might need help." I teased and she walked over to me.

She grabbed my hand and dragged me out of my chair and, with momentum, I pushed her back against the wall a couple feet away. I stared at her for a second silently and her breath became slightly ragged and I chuckled before kissing her forehead. "Come on, we have a class to get to."

She groaned again "Can't we just find a nice broom closet?" I laughed with her and walked in the direction of our class.

"Hey! Keep it clean you two! Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Emmett winked teasingly and slung an arm around Rose's waist. Everyone laughed again and Bella rolled her eyes dramatically at him.

"I'll see you later, Em."

"See ya." We all parted ways except for me and Bella.

"Is he _ever _going to grow up?"

She shook her head slowly. "I honestly don't know." Something caught her eye on the wall and she slowed down a little bit. "Look." She pointed her chin in the direction of a colorful and eye attracting poster on the wall. "They're already getting hyped up about the talent show… two months from now. We are such small town hicks." She laughed and I smiled at the sound.

"Yeah, we are." I agreed. "Are you going to do it?" I asked casually.

Bella stopped in front of me and looked incredulously at me. "Edward? Are you serious?" She reached up and felt my forehead. "You don't have a fever, so you must just be losing it mentally…" She looked at me thoughtfully and bit her lip but I could see the humor sparking in her eyes.

I just rolled my eyes and let it drop _for the moment_ and I opened the door to our classroom for her.

The bell started its five-tone ring and we sat down quickly, taking our seats as the last chime rang out. We cut that a little close. We were just watching a video on a subject I already knew so I kept shooting glances and crooked smiles at Bella from across the room. I looked back at the TV screen and she turned to watch me now and feeling her warm gaze on me was driving me crazy. When was that bell going to ring again?! I looked at the clock anxiously—23 minutes left. I sighed and rested my head on my folded arms, staring blankly at the TV screen just like everyone else. Did _anyone ever_ pay attention to the videos they showed? I took extensive notes in an attempt to keep myself busy and not look back at Bella. I think the teacher might notice if we just started at each other from across the room.

When the bell chimed I almost cheered and I left the claustrophobic room as quickly as possible. Bella was waiting for me and I pulled her close. "That was horrible." I complained like a child.

"I know! It just wouldn't end!" She sounded frustrated and I pulled back. "Maybe we could miss class if we just suddenly went into self-induced comas…." She mumbled slowly, like she was actually thinking about it.

I shook my head as we walked into our next class. Just like the last, it dragged on _forever_. I was ready to explode. And it wasn't even Friday yet, only Thursday. Actually, it wasn't just that hour, the rest of the day dragged.

When the final bell rang, I wasn't the only one to jump up and bolt for the door. "It's over!" Emmett yelled a few buildings down from us. Bella giggled and waved.

"We'll see you after football practice!" She called and he nodded, waved, and hurried off towards the field, where he'd meet Rose on her way to cheerleading practice. I placed an arm across Bella's shoulders lazily and looked up at the overcast sky. "It's gonna rain soon." She muttered, her lip slipping into a pout.

"And I'm going to make sure you're outside when it happens." She glared at me and tried to hide her smile. "Love, you're going to bite it off if you bite your lip that hard." She broke into a smile.

"Yeah, yeah…" I opened the car door for her and she slipped in. As I was walking around, I was confronted by both Lauren, and just behind her, Jessica.

"Why, hello Eddie." Lauren crooned as Jessica fluttered her eyes at me.

I looked between both of them repeatedly for a couple seconds, not even bothering to correct her. "Is there something you need?" I finally asked.

"Yeah, I was wandering if you wanted to go out with me sometime." The car window was down and Bella was _not_ laughing. Before I could do anything she got out of the car and stalked over to us, standing in front of me.

"Do you really have the _audacity_ to come over here and ask _my_ boyfriend out while I'm _right next to you_!" Bella yelled at her and Jessica had the smarts to take a step back but Lauren stood her ground and just sneered at her.

"It's obvious he doesn't really like you! It a pity thing, he's just a good guy trying to help a poor girl with no life!" She screeched right back at Bella and heads started to turn.

"Hey!" I took a step forward, there was no way she was going to talk to my Bella like that and get away with it.

"Stay out of this!" They both yelled at me.

"He's my boyfriend and it is not a 'pity thing'." Bella pointed at me. "We love each other!" I couldn't help smiling, I think I kind of like Bella with a green-eyed monster on her back. The expression on Lauren's shocked face wasn't so bad either.

I waltzed over to where Bella was standing and wrapped my arms around her waist from behind and placed my chin on her shoulder. She just crossed he arms and huffed, still glaring at Lauren and Jessica who was slowly backing away. Lauren was still dumbfounded and people were trying to hide their snickers and giggles. I could hear the word 'catfight' being said by more than one person. I put my lips to Bella's ear "Calm down, Love. I love you, come on, let's go out to dinner." She reluctantly looked at me.

"You're just trying to get me away from here." She accused and even though her face and posture was still stiff her eyes weren't hard anymore.

I smiled crookedly. "Any way I could get you to move faster?"

"Where are we eating?"

"That little restaurant in Seattle, La Bella Italia." She still looked reluctant so I kissed her once and she finally crumbled.

"Okay, that sounds good." I smiled again and let her get back in the car. I looked up and faltered for a second. Lauren was still just standing there, staring at us. I decided to just brush past her and I got in the driver's side of my beautiful silver Volvo. As we drove out of the parking lot, Bella crossed her arms again and was glaring out of the windshield.

"What's wrong? We don't have to go if you don't want to."

"It's not that, I want to go. I just can't believe how… selfish and shallow she is." She looked disgusted, like she'd just seen a bug get smashed.

"Well I can't believe how dumb she is, but that's just me." I said slowly and I smiled when Bella laughed.

"Why don't you call Charlie and tell him where we're going and then I'll call my mom."

Bella took my phone from the top of the dashboard and dialed the police office's number. She spent a couple minutes mumbling stuff into the receiver before she gave it to me and said he was okay with it. I nodded and called Esme to tell her our plans and she also said that it was fine.

We didn't say much the rest or the car ride; just sat in comfortable silence with a few comments here and there. I drove slower than I usually did and the sun was starting to set when we drove up to La Bella Italia's parking lot. I looked over and noticed Bella had nodded off. I put down the parking brake and sat back to watch her for a few minutes. She'd been sleeping okay lately but not as good as I might've wished. My angel slumbered on quietly.

**BPOV**

"Love, wake up. We're here Bella." I groaned and stretched before opening my eyes to take in my surroundings. We were in Edward's car and the sun was setting…. Oh, and we were in Seattle. That took me a few seconds to remember and then I looked up at Edward who was smiling gently.

"I'm sorry." I whispered "It's kind of hard to entertain people in a car ride when you fall asleep." I sat up and his smile turned teasing.

"You sleeping always keeps me entertained."

"Ah, man, would did I say now?!"

"My name and a few other things that sounded like mumbled gibberish."

"Oh, well that's okay." He smiled at me and stepped out of the car. I got out too, met him at the front, and we walked into the restaurant together.

Thirty minutes later we were both sitting in a booth with Cokes sitting in front of us. "Do we have English homework?" I hadn't really been paying attention in any of our classes today.

Edward's eyebrow creased as he thought. "No, just to bring in that paper from about a week ago; we both finished it." I nodded slowly. "So…"

"Hi, my name is Randy, I'll be your waiter this evening. May I take your order?" Edward looked a little irritated at being interrupted but answered his question. After writing down our orders he quickly left.

I placed my elbow on the table and rested my cheek in my palm. "What were you saying?" He just shook his head and sighed.

"I'll ask later. Have you settled back into school completely yet?"

"Pretty much, yeah, I guess. Mike and Tyler apologize to me every chance they get from that one day in the hospital. It's annoying as all get out." I rolled my eyes and his expression hardened.

"They should be apologizing." He growled under his breath and looked away.

"No, don't get in a bad mood now!" I whined at him "Come on, we came here to relax and cool off. We'll eat and then they always start the dancing around six. What time is it now?"

"A quarter after five." Edward put his phone back in his pocket. "You'll dance with me?"He raised an eyebrow and I bit my lip. Maybe I shouldn't have volunteered that fast. But dancing in his room a few weeks ago had been so much fun and he was amazing.

"Only if you'll let me stand on your feet." I grinned and he chuckled.

"Okay." We both looked up at our waiter, Randy, who was walking towards us with a tray in his hands.

"Your spaghetti." He said and laid a plate in front of me.

"Your spaghetti as well." We weren't feeling like creative dishes.

As we ate, the conversation flowed easily as we talked about a bunch of random and meaningless things as well as one or two serious things. Right now we were asking each other stupid things to kind of puzzle over or ponder.

"Where do all the missing socks go?" I laughed; he looked so serious when he asked me. He smiled back and took a sip of Coke.

"I don't have an answer to that one… What would a chair look like if our knees bent the other way?" He watched me for a few seconds before putting both of his elbows on the table and his head in his hands.

"My brain hurts." He mumbled and I laughed again.

"Yeah, mine did too when I heard that one." We were interrupted by a piano being played softly and we looked over to see that the table and chairs had been cleared off the small, wooden dance floor. Edward smiled at me innocently.

"Okay! I'll dance." His smile widened and he held a hand out as he stood. I sighed and took it and he led me to the dance floor.

He pulled me close and placed me on his feet by lifting me up and sliding his own under me. He started to slowly sway and spin and a few other couples joined us on the floor.

"If a man is standing in the middle of a forest and speaking and no woman is around to hear him… is he still wrong?" Edward questioned after a minute of contented silence.

I burying my face in his chest to muffle my laughter. When I pulled away I smiled at him teasingly. "Yes, he's still wrong." He smiled back crookedly and twirled me off his feet, just to pull me back on.

"Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Yes, very much so, and you?"

"Always when I'm in your presence. Oh, that question I was going to ask you earlier… So, what do you think about singing in the talent show?"

"Aw, don't ruin the moment!" I groaned.

"I'm serious. You deserve to be heard. Please? I'll sing with you."

I quickly looked away, if I saw him pouting it would all be over immediately. "No."

"Bella? Come on, look at me. Please do the show?" I sighed and kept my eyes averted.

"No."

"Don't you love me?" My eyes snapped to his face.

"Don't you dare pull that card…" And I was caught in his persuasive emerald eyes. I sighed heavily. "You're not going to leave me alone until I agree to this are you?"

"Nope."

"Fine, if you'll sing with me."

"Yes." He pumped a fist and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"Who are you calling?"

"Alice. She's going to love this."

"She's going to make this so much more of a big deal than it is though!"

"Too bad… Hey, Alice, good news."

I dropped my head on to his shoulder and ignored his velvet voice for a minute while he talked.

"Okay, she sounded like she was going to have everything planned by the time we get home. Everyone is exited that you're going to sing in front of other people." He smiled.

"They don't know how I sound themselves." I muttered and kept my face hidden in his shoulder.

"Everyone in our little group-family thing knows how you sing. You did know that the bathroom walls aren't sound proof right?" He laughed. "You always sing in the shower."

My face flooded with color. "Crap, I didn't think people would notice, or that I was singing that loud."

"Sometimes you get a little carried away; not that I mind."

I groaned. "I don't know about this. What if I mess up?" I looked up at him sadly. "It would be pretty typical of me to trip and land on my face while walking on stage."

"You won't, I'll be right there next to you, I promise." I looked away only to look right back when he said my name. "Do you trust me, Bella?" His eyes scorched in the dim light.

I smiled gently and wrapped my arms around his neck to pull him down. I kissed him softly for a minute before pulling away and resting my forehead on his. "I trust you more than you know, Edward."

**A/N: And that is Trust. This is so bittersweet writing this. Trust is over and I'm going to miss writing it, but I **_**finished **_**it. :)**** I thank **_**all**_** of you. For reading this and telling me what you think, I especially thank those of you that have been there since the beginning. I'll put up the epilogue after I write it and then I plan on starting to work on my new story 'On the Corner of First and Amistad.' If you want to hear more from me after the epilogue, the first chapter of that story is posted and I'm writing as I go just like with this story. We're over 920 reviews so review this chapter and stay tuned for the epilogue and we'll make it to 1,000 reviews!! Thank you so much. **


	27. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: Don't own Twilight or the songs used: "You and Me" by Lifehouse and "The Artist" by The Hush Sound.**

**Two months later**

**BPOV**

"Edward, you're on in two minutes and then you and Bella will sing the finale in about fifteen minutes after Robert does his saxophone solo." Mrs. Taylor, the school principal, smiled at us and walked away.

Edward pulled his guitar strap over his head. "Guess I better get ready. Wish me luck." He smiled crookedly and I reached up on to my toes to kiss his cheek.

"Good luck." From side stage we both glanced out at the crowd and saw our whole group, taking up an entire row in the auditorium, and Alice noticed us, giving us an excited thumbs up. I waved shyly and we hid back behind the curtain as the people on the stage finished up their performance, some kind of dance.

"What are you singing?" I hoped to catch him off guard. He had refused to tell me what he was singing himself and it was driving me crazy.

"You'll see in a minute, Love, but I know you'll like it." He smiled crookedly and after another minute of silence, contented on his part and frustrated on mine, he walked on to the stage and sat in a chair in front of a microphone. Doing what the principal had said, he introduced himself to the crowd before starting the song, even though we already knew everyone.

I ran around the back of the stage and down the stairs to sit in an empty seat in the front row of the audience. I wanted to see him; he said the song was for me so I should be out here, right?

He smiled at me and staring picking at the strings of his acoustic guitar. Like most songs, it took me less than a few seconds to realize what it was. "You and Me" by Lifehouse. He knew how much I loved that song and I felt my face soften and I smiled at him.

"_What day is it? And in what month?  
This clock never seemed so alive,  
I can't keep up and I can't back down.  
I've been losing so much time.__"_

He sang softly and he kept his eyes on me the entire time. It was hard to listen when he looked at me like that, with scorching eyes. I didn't catch most of the words after that. I was just listening to his voice and watching after that point. I think he was singing and playing purely from memory, he seemed almost as entranced as I was. When the song ended applause and cheers went up through the school, I jumped.

I stood up and went backstage again. I waved at Robert as he passed by me with his saxophone and he returned it before going back to fidgeting with his neck strap. Edward met me by the curtain and he pulled me into a hug. I started to wrap my arms around him but I hit his guitar that was strapped to his back so it was cut short. "Why did I have to wish you luck exactly? That was amazing!" I grinned at him and he smiled. He leaned down and kissed my cheek.

"I'm glad you liked it because I only did it for you." Butterflies fluttered in my stomach despite myself and the fact that he said stuff to me like that every day. I had no idea how a girl like myself could have ever had a guy like him fall in love with her. I was the luckiest person on Earth whenever he was with me.

We stood there for a long moment with him just holding me and his face pressed into my hair while I wrapped my arms around his waist as best I could and laid my cheek on his chest. I breathed in his scent and sighed contentedly. I didn't ever want to move.

Too bad that couldn't happen. "Robert's song is almost done and then it's your turn." Mrs. Taylor tapped both of us on our shoulders. I looked up and nodded slowly but Edward didn't change his position, keeping his arms around me and his face in my hair. I felt a smile tug at the corner of my lips and I rested my head back on his chest so I could still see Mrs. Taylor with one eye. Her shoulders slumped a little bit, with what looked like eased tension, and her face softened. I thought she was going to break out into Awww's but she just smiled one more time before walking off again.

"I love you." Edward whispered as he kissed my ear softly.

"I love you, too." I said just as quietly and then reluctantly we both pulled away. Edward pulled my hand to his face and kissed it before gently letting it drop again.

"Are you ready?"

"No, but I don't have a choice now do I?"

He smiled mischievously "None whatsoever."

Before I could reply, there was more applause, signaling Robert's close and our unfortunate beginning.

He smiled crookedly, _my_ smile, and then took my hand and led me to the stage. At middle stage he sat down in a chair with his guitar in his lap. A microphone was positioned in between him and the guitar so you could hear both. I had picked up my guitar right before we walked onto stage and I would be standing next to him. There were two microphones for me, one was at waist-height for my guitar and the other was right in front of my face.

Edward didn't say anything just nodded once at the crowd and I introduced myself.

We were singing a song I had always really liked but was a lesser known song by a not very well known band. I was 99% sure that not _one_ person in the crowd had heard it before, outside of our family, which was one reason I was singing it. I was a little quiet and unsure at first but I slowly gained confidence. _"You find all of your ugly meanings, in the things I find beautiful."_I loved that line and I did especially well when Edward smiled at me every time I looked over and whenever he sang with me I did better as well. I sang out my favorite part of the song, even though it was without Edward, contradicting the lyrics:

"_You painted me in pastel,  
colors that don't tell of any boldness.  
That's the way you'd love to see me:  
so delicate, so weak, so little purpose._

_But your eyes are drawn of charcoal  
they're black, they're so cold, they're so imperfect.  
Because they see a sleeping world,  
where waking isn't worth it."_

I finally cracked a smile and slipped off into the world where only singing could take me. When the song ended, everyone clapped harder than I'd heard before and a lot of people stood. I blushed fiercely and looked down at my shoes. I waved one more time and Edward followed me off stage. Sure, our song wasn't a big fanfare. That's what Alice had tried to convince me to do but I wouldn't agree no matter what she said, so she'd finally settled on a duet between me and Edward. And now, jumping up and down and clapping her little hands off I think she was okay with the final decision.

"That was fantastic you two!" Ms. Cope, another supervisor of the show, gushed. Mrs. Taylor nodded in agreement.

"Thank you." Edward smiled and nodded before leading me back off the stage.

"Where are we going?"

"Just home; away from all the people and noise." He answered and we walked out into the rain. We ran to the car because it wasn't really a sprinkle. I didn't get to wet, Edward had pretty much shielded me with his arms.

"You're such a gentleman." I stuck my tongue out at him teasingly.

He just smiled and pulled out of the parking spot. I rested my head against the cool glass of the car and closed my eyes. He traced his fingers up my arm "Are you tired?"

I nodded. "I was worrying about the show."

"I told you, you should have slept over."I just shrugged in response and he took my hand in his, rubbing circles in my palm.

After that we sat in silence and I could hear the rain, slowing down and then it finally stopped altogether. The drive was taking longer than it usually did. "Where are we going?"

"We're just driving around town and then we'll go back home, don't worry. You can sleep, Love." We fell back into a comfortable silence but I still couldn't sleep. I felt the car turn a corner and suddenly light flared in my face, bathing the car in light. My eyes snapped open to see the sun coming out behind some clouds. The sky wasn't its usual grey, but splattered with color, pinks, reds, and oranges. I sat up and examined it like I'd never seen a sunset before. Of course I had, it just wasn't the most common thing in the world, not here in Forks.

Edward pulled the car over on the side of the road and I looked at him curiously. He didn't say anything, just sat back and watched me with sparkling emerald eyes. "You wanna get out?" I asked him.

"Sure." He got out of the car and I exited the car meeting him around the front. We sat down on the hood and leaned back against the windshield, hoping it wouldn't cave in or anything. That would _not_ be good. What an understatement. Edward wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close so my face was on his chest and my hand on his waist. We watched the sun set from there.

I reached up and sprinkled kisses down his jaw and to his lips. Then I kissed him fiercely and tangled my fingers in his bronze hair. His hands traveled up my back and then back down to my waist. He pulled away and smiled at me. "You're blocking the sun." He murmured. I gasped and smacked his shoulder. His laugh filled the air around us and I snuggled back into the crook of his arm.

"Jerk." I muttered and he laughed again and this time my chuckle mixed with his.

When our laughter died down Edward's expression became more pensive as the sun sunk lower and lower in the evening sky. "Another ending…" He murmured softly.

I looked up at him and our eyes met while corrected him in a whisper. "Another beginning."

~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~

**Ok I have a bunch of things for you guys; a few notes.**

**One-**gracias, merci, Vielen Dank, and a thanks in every other language because that was all I know, thank you :)

**Two-**I just read an awesome Fanfiction, one of the best I've found, call Forever Young by Mirrorbay2000 and you _have_ to read it! It was amazing, despite a few grammatical errors here and there, I couldn't get off the computer until I finished it! So, go read it and review, it deserves to be better known. It's under my favorite stories and she's under my favorite authors.

**Three-**Trust is over. BUUUT, I was thinking about maybe posting an outtake. Maybe when Bella and Edward told Emmett they loved each other from his POV? I don't know, if I do, you guys will have to want me to and tell me :)

**Four-**Like I said, Trust is over, epilogue and all, so I want you guys to read my other story "On the Corner of First and Amistad." It already has two chapters posted and if you guys want to hear more from me, that's the place to look!

**Five-** I have a list of people I need to give an extra thank you. **EVWTForever**- You're an awesome beta; thanks for helping me out :D **school needs** **to go** (the dot between school and needs wouldn't work)- Did you think I forgot about you? Nope. Thank for helping me figure out how to post the chapters and such; without you Trust wouldn't have happened. **all-hail-the-jello**- I had a lot of fun talking to you and you helped me a great deal. You know, with ideas and encouragement and I thank you again for it. :) and then I need to mention **A is for Angel**- she's the girl I'm betaing for and I've had fun talking to you too! Lastly, I need to thank my family, no duh. They've put up with me for this for sooo long. "One more minute, I _almost_ done writing the chapter!" _Twenty_ minutes later I'm done… Yeah, I owe you guys, thank you as well. :P

And again thank you to everyone, I'm sure with the epilogue we'll reach 1,000 reviews. I wonder who will be number 1,000? They'd better leave an awesome review, I'm warning you now, because it'll be a big deal to me!! :D Ok, love you guys, and I'll see you again soon, on my other story. Sierra Swan has left the building!


	28. EXTRA

**PEOPLE WERE ASKING FOR AN EXTRA OF CHAPTER 13 IN EMMETT'S POV, SO HERE IT IS!! SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG, I WAS WORKING ON MY OTHER STORY!**

**EmPOV**

"What the _heck_ was _that_?!" Without even thinking, I grabbed Edward and shoved him up against the wall. I was so confused and just blindingly furious. I wanted to punch him when he didn't even look at me, but just continued to watch Bella like nothing had happened. "Bella, you have thirty seconds to explain." I growled and gripped Edward tighter for emphasis.

She ran over and tried to pull me off Edward but I was too pissed to even look at her. "Let go of him." She said slowly, but that wasn't what I wanted to hear.

"Edward, you're like a brother to me, but if someone doesn't explain I'm going to beat the crap out of you for kissing my little sister." _Why _had he kissed Bella?! I always knew that they were in contact often, Bella had explained the reason, but I would not stand for him kissing her without a freaking explanation. I liked Edward, but not that much, I didn't like _anyone _that much. No one was good enough for Bella, but at the same time I didn't want her to be alone. My head felt like it was going to explode from my confusion.

"Emmett, can I _please_ talk to you alone?"Bella's voice broke through my thoughts and I finally pulled myself away from Edward and looked at her, trying to down tone my glare a little.

I glanced at Edward, feeling the need to throttle him when I saw he was still looking at Bella. "Fine." I snarled and dropped Edward. I quickly followed my little sister into the kitchen, not looking back for fear I'd go kill Edward. That would not make Bella happy. A miserable Bella at home sucked. "What's going on, Bella? Why did he kiss you? I know you guys are close, but I've _never_ seen you guys kiss like that, it's always been on the cheek before." I wanted my answers and I wanted them _right_ this minute.

"Because I'm hoping he likes me and I recently realized that…That I love him." I could tell this was the first time she'd ever said it out loud, she looked as shocked as I felt. Confusion reigned in my brain as I tried to understand her words. She loved him? _Bella loved Edward?_ I never thought I'd say those words in the same sentence. It had always been obvious that at some point they'd end up together but I didn't think it would be now, _now_ of all times.

"You…love him?" I felt like I was chocking on my own words.

"Yes." Confirmation. Who knew a three letter word could cause so much chaos in someone's mind? She loved him. My baby sister, how could she love someone and I not know? Did she feel that she couldn't come to me? She'd always come to me or….me or Edward in the past. I sighed quietly ad when I glanced up at her, she was staring at her hands and she had a soft expression on her face. She must've been thinking about Edward. I needed to talk to him, I decided. I needed to know if he felt the same way. If he didn't, I _would_ hurt him. If he did…I didn't know what I'd do. I didn't know if I had the control to just sit back and watch things play out. Maybe I could talk to Alice; she would know what to do. I sighed again mentally. Okay, Edward.

"Can I talk to Edward?" I looked up at her and she seemed surprised that I was still here.

She thought for a moment, unconsciously biting her lip, "Will you be nice and _not _tell him what I said? I'll tell him when I'm ready."I felt like I was chocking on air again and nodded, not trusting myself to speak at the moment.

She left the room to retrieve Edward and all I wanted was a pillow to scream into out of frustration. I felt like my brain was going to explode inside my skull if I didn't find a way to calm down soon. Or at least something to distract me for a moment.

Edward walked into the room, but I couldn't even look at him as he sat down. I was still trying to comprehend that my baby sister _loved_ someone, let alone the guy sitting right in front of me! "Emmett?" I jumped slightly; I hadn't expected him to speak yet. When I looked at him closer I could see a tad of the fear I'd been looking for earlier and I tried not to smirk in satisfaction as I thought of how to begin.

I opened my mouth, but closed it again, deciding not to yell at him. "I only have one question for you." I said and he nodded. "How do you feel about Bella?" I stared straight into his eyes, trying to pierce his soul. He had to be sure of his answer and so did I.

"I love her." The words both frustrated me and made me want to hug them both in congratulations. I was happy for them, because I loved them both in their own ways, but I didn't know if I was ready to give Bella away to someone else. I thought of how long they had been inseparable and how close they'd always been and I couldn't help but wonder if she'd ever been mine to give. I nodded, acknowledging Edward's answer without looking up.

"You can go back to her and," This was hard for me to say because it was only partially true. "…I'm not mad." We both stood and I followed him into the family room. I tried to be mature about it. I only pretended to throttle him from behind once.

As soon as we'd both entered the family room, Bella was talking, faster than I'd heard her talk in a while. "Guys, guess what I did?" I looked at Edward and he looked up at me at the same time. We both shrugged and looked back at Bella expectantly. "I _touched_ Emmett and it didn't bother me!" It took me less than a second, or so it felt, to understand what she'd said and remember when she'd tried to tug me off Edward. I grabbed her in a big bear hug, for two reasons. One, I was so happy to be able to hug her again, which was the reason she knew; and two, because I was happy for her and Edward. I wondered if she'd get the entire message.

"Put me…down, can't… breathe." She squeaked after hugging me back and I laughed, feeling relieved and happy. I gently set her on the ground as she sucked in some air.

"I'll call Charlie and tell him that you're starting to get better." I pulled out my cell phone and tried not to jump up and down in excitement. I quickly left the room as the other line started ringing.

"Hello?" Charlie said in his gruff voice.

"Bella's getting better, we can touch her now!" I rushed out and he fell into shocked silence. Then I heard a bunch of scuffling and I could tell he was getting ready to go.

"When can I come over?"I was sure it was a formality, he was coming over now, no matter what I said.

"As soon as possible." I answered.

"I'm coming right now."

"See you soon." I hung up. I sighed happily, my Bells was getting better.

I walked back into the family room and froze, staring at Edward and Bella. Bella was sitting on the couch and Edward was laying down, his head in her lap and his hand on her cheek. Bella was absent mindedly running her fingers through his hair and they were both looking at Jasper. Edward saw me and started to sit up, but I made a split second decision and shook my head at him a little. I wanted Bella to be happy and she looked comfortable in their present position. "Charlie's coming." I announced.

Bella started worrying her lip and her eyebrows pushed together in thought. Edward said something to her that I couldn't hear and she smiled, nodding. I sighed; it seemed that Edward would be providing comfort now. No need for Emmett! I tried to squash the feeling of jealousy creeping up inside me.

Suddenly, the door banged open and there stood Rose and Alice. "Bella!!" They squealed.

**A/N: So, there's your extra! Guys, I need a favor!! I have another story, 'On the Corner of First and Amistad,' and I don't have half as many readers on that story as I do on this one :(**** I myself think that Amistad is better than Trust. I've also had several readers say that they think Amistad is better as well. Now, when I posted this, almost 550 people got an email. I'm hoping that somewhere between five and ten of you will go read my other story! **_**Please, please, please**_**, for me?! That doesn't work? Okay, how about for Edward and Bella? Here's a summary of 'On the Corner of First and Amistad':**

_Bella and Edward are both in college at Washington State in their second year. Both have dark pasts that they seemed to have finally escaped from. Before they died in a car accident when Edward was in high school, his parents used to beat him weekly. (It's not Carlisle and Esme.) He's never been close to anyone besides his brother, Emmett, and he doesn't plan on ever letting that change. Bella was treated like an angel, until her parents died when she was only six. She was adopted by her very loving aunt and uncle until one day they seemingly dropped off the face of the Earth. All her life, everyone close to Bella as died or left her, outside her only friend and roommate, Alice and her friends Jasper and Rosalie. Edward and Bella meet one day in a small coffee shop. Let the chips just fall where they may..._

**What do you say?? Please read it, I really think it deserves more readers than Trust, even though this is my first completed story and it holds a special place in my heart :] Thank you for reading Trust and, hopefully!, for reading Amistad!!!! :D**


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